Psychotropic medications are essential parts of the management of several severe mental health difficulties, including psychoses. Despite their therapeutic benefits, these drugs carry significant risks, making essential the regulation of their ordering, prescribing, storage and administration. Clinical processes involved in the prescription, administration and monitoring of medication are complex and require input from different members of the interdisciplinary team working together for the benefit of each patient. Every day across approved centres in Ireland, many thousands of such prescriptions are administered safely by professionals working under appropriate clinical supervision. 

P.15 Number of approved centres with written policies or guidelines for oversight of the following (examples):

• Clozapine prescribing, monitoring & implications of smoking cessation on the drug
• Rapid tranquilisation prescribing and monitoring
• Intentional Self-harm (self poisoning)

P.21 4.3 Policy response The findings of this review highlight the need for standardisation across all approved centres in relation to the use of medications. In response, the MHC has revised its JSF for 2026 (12). These revisions include the requirement of a policy suite, which at a minimum, provides for a degree of standardisation regarding the following issues:

• Rapid tranquilisation
• Clozapine management
• Lithium management
• Mood stabilisation in pregnancy and women of childbearing years
• Detoxification
• Anaphylaxis
• Venous thromboembolism prevention and anticoagulation safety
• Antimicrobial stewardship
• Sepsis recognition and management