Special supplement | Stories of change
Hassan Mahmood’s work on STOMP demonstrates sustained leadership in learning disability and autism services, with a focus on quality improvement, equity, and system change. STOMP, a national NHS programme launched in England in 2016, aims to reduce the overmedication of people with a learning disability, autistic people, or both. By 2024, his clinical and partnership experience had sharpened concern about avoidable harm, particularly the intersection between overmedication and ethnicity. Attendance at the 2024 London International Forum marked a turning point. Hearing chief quality officer at East London NHS Foundation Trust, Amar Shah, speak about winning hearts and minds reframed improvement as relational work grounded in trust, inclusion and shared purpose. Mahmood left the conference with renewed confidence to lead differently and to move beyond established processes. Since then, he has strengthened leadership on STOMP within his trust through education for community learning disability teams and clearer prescribing governance for psychotropic medication. From early 2025, he has initiated community engagement events bringing together trust leaders, voluntary organisations, public health, and social care to address inequalities affecting people with a learning disability from ethnic minority backgrounds. From leadership inspiration to action Improving patient care and correct diagnosis to stop overmedication in learning disability and autism services (STOMP)
At the London 2024 International Forum, I was inspired by Amar Shah’s presentation about the importance of ‘winning the hearts and minds of people’. I left the conference with the confidence to lead, to move beyond established processes, and really innovate. Hassan Mahmood Deputy chief medical officer for learning disability and autism, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust, and consultant psychiatrist specialising in learning disability and autism services, UK
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