'Chemical cosh' scandal': Thousands of patients with no history of mental illness needlessly given cocktail of anti-psychotic drugs

• Drugs being given to people with learning disabilities, dementia and autism
• Anti-psychotics should normally be used to treat illness such as bipolar
• 71% of those prescribed the drugs have no history of severe mental illness
• Findings will fuel growing concerns that the nation is ‘over-medicalised’