Shock treatment 'safe and effective'

An independent report is recommending the continued use of electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) as a safe and effective treatment for severe depression, although it says there should be some regulatory changes.

The report concluded that ECT was appropriate for treating some serious mental disorders, and banning it would deprive some seriously ill patients of a potentially effective and sometimes life-saving treatment.

Dr Jeremy Skipworth, the Health Ministry's deputy director of mental health, said he welcomed the report's conclusions.

The Government agreed in February 2003 to a review of the safety and effectiveness of ECT after receiving a 3000-signature petition from the Patients Advocacy Group in Hamilton.

The petition said the treatment had left people with brain damage and memory loss, was degrading and inhumane, and, when forced on people, breached the Bill of Rights.

ECT is administered under general anaesthetic and patients are given a muscle relaxant. An electric pulse applied to the temples induces a brain seizure.

As part of its conclusion, the report - compiled by Auckland University Professor of Geriatrics and Neurology Craig Anderson, Otago University Professor of Law Peter Skegg and mental health consumer expert Ranui Wilson - suggested that the regulatory controls for ECT needed to change.

They recommend that, where possible, ECT should be administered only with the patient's consent, noting that patients should be able to refuse treatment in advance when they were competent to make this decision.

Dr Skipworth said these measures would require law changes and should be more widely debated, particularly as they would signal wider changes in clinical practice.

In the interim, guidelines and standards would be reviewed to ensure greater clarity around issues of informed consent.

A health select committee report recommending consistent monitoring, collecting and recording of national data on ECT use in New Zealand will be released next month.

ECT

What is it?

Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) is a treatment for serious mental disorders.

How does it work?

Patients are given general anaesthetic and a muscle relaxant. An electric pulse to the temples induces a brain seizure.

Will it continue?

Yes, but patients must give consent whenever possible and can refuse in advance to have the treatment.

- NZPA