The problem is that the press always present these things in black-and-white fashion.
My Dad is also being treated with Quitiapine. He is not in a care home, but lives at home with us.
However, his agressive behavior and paranoid delusions were becoming unmanageable.
The Quitiapine he takes most certainly are not to keep him "sedated" and are not used as a "chemical cosh".
What they have done is to bring his agression down to manageable levels, and seem to have improved his paranoid delusions to the point where we don;t hear stories about the "evil" neighbours who were "sneaking out at night, and climbing ladders to cut bits off our roof" and who had "lisening devices on the wall to monitor what we say".
There may well be cases where these drugs are used to sedate people, and possibly in an unecessary fashion, but I would say (from experience) that they do have their place and they can treat some very distressing symptoms.
However, I will be speaking to Dad's consultant shortly, to see if the dose can be reduced so as to minimise as far as possible any risks.
We do think that the Quitiapine may be related to a recent decline in cognitive functions.