Trainees showcase learning disability psychiatry audits at national conference
Two of our psychiatry trainees recently had the opportunity to showcase their work at the Faculty of Psychiatry of Intellectual Disability Conference, presenting audits focused on important areas of clinical practice for people with intellectual disabilities.
Dr Ahmad AbuTalib, ST4 Learning Disability Psychiatry trainee, and Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, CT2 Psychiatry trainee, presented their work at the conference on Friday 2 October.
The two audits explored antipsychotic prescribing and the management of insomnia in adults with intellectual disabilities.
Antipsychotic prescribing
The first audit, by Dr Ahmad AbuTalib, Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle and Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, looked at antipsychotic prescribing within the North and Mid Devon Community Learning Disability Team.
The re-audit reviewed the care of 95 patients between April 2025 and March 2026 to assess how closely prescribing practice aligned with NICE guidance.
It found high levels of documented physical health monitoring and capacity assessments. Compared with the previous audit, physical health monitoring improved from 91% to 98.5%, while the proportion of patients prescribed an antipsychotic increased from 63.4% to 70.5%.
The findings highlighted areas for continued improvement, including clearer documentation of treatment indications and capacity assessments, ongoing physical health monitoring and reviewing psychotropic polypharmacy in line with STOMP principles.
Insomnia management
The second audit, by Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, Dr Andres Martinez and Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, focused on the management of insomnia in adults with intellectual disabilities.
The audit looked at how insomnia is assessed and managed, including whether underlying sleep disorders are identified, non-drug approaches are considered first and appropriate follow-up takes place.
It also considered the importance of clearly documenting capacity assessments, the reasons for prescribing medication and ongoing medication plans, helping to support safe, evidence-based care that is consistent with NICE guidance.
Dr Reena Ijaz-Ul-Haq, who supervised the trainees, said she was proud to see both audits presented at the conference and happy with Ahmad and Joshua's achievements.
Both audits were registered with our audit team, with the posters also shared with the team.
The work provides an opportunity to share learning beyond the immediate clinical teams while highlighting the contribution of our trainees to reviewing and improving clinical practice for people with intellectual disabilities.
Pictured from left to right: Dr Joshua Kan-Bulle, CT2, Dr Reena Haq, Consultant Psychiatrist and Dr Ahmad AbuTabil, ST4 LD Psychiatry.