Please Look After My Dad
Panorama, BBC One
Monday 3rd Dec, 8.30pm
Star rating: 3/5
This programme was broadcast just three days after Panorama was
rapped for its controversial wi-fi report. But the topic of
Please Look After My Dad, a report on the
effects of anti-psychotic drugs on Alzheimer's patients, is not
scaremongering. It is an issue that has received wide attention
and senior academic and medical figures gave evidence to the
programme.
So why was it still so hard to trust the report? At its heart,
there was a mismatch between the story of just one man's treatment,
and major research which pointed to an institutional problem of
treating Alzheimer's with a "chemical cosh".
The film was built around the secret footage of patient Eric
Hollingsworth, filmed by his daughter Cheryl. But despite having a
strong story and the visuals handed to them on a plate, the
production team still dressed up the programme with reconstructions
and often outright gimmicky scripting. On the daughter's discovery
of her father's light hallucinations, for example, we're told that
a "light switched on for Cheryl".
Professor Clive Ballard's startling research into the
potentially life-extending benefits of taking patients off
anti-psychotics was also showcased. It's great to see a major
long-term study given airtime. But with just 30 minutes to work
with in total, trying to cover a powerful human interest story and
an institutionalised problem was always going to be a tall
order.
With no time to present more cases in depth to illustrate the
problem, a brief chat with the more coherent Walter, an Alzheimer's
patient in a care home that avoids anti-psychotic drugs, was served
up instead. "Eric is 81, eight years younger than Walter," reporter
Vivian White glibly states, as if we are witnessing a
scientifically sound comparison of similar cases.
Shallow reporting left many unanswered questions. I'm none the
wiser as to the real reasons behind prescribing so many
anti-psychotic drugs, or what is being done about Ballard's
research.
The strong documentary evidence and statements by doctors have
made it clear to a wider audience that there is a real problem. But
the tabloid reporting techniques and limited scope means the report
rang hollow.
Andrew Mickel is a journalism student specialising in social
care issues