Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 October 2018
327. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Health the recourse or redress available for persons who were subject to electroconvulsive therapy in earlier years and who suffered long-term negative effects in view of the damage caused by the health service. [39428/18]
View answerElectroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is a treatment which can be used for severe and often intractable cases of clinical depression and other psychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. It is an individual specific treatment prescribed by the treating consultant psychiatrist based on an assessment of the patient concerned.
ECT can be administered as a lifesaving treatment in catatonia, acute suicidality and where patients have stopped eating and drinking as a result of severe depressive illness. Elderly persons may be administered ECT where an individual’s health or life is at risk due to self-neglect. It is also occasionally used in patients who are unable to tolerate antidepressant treatment as a result of severe side effects or adverse side effects.
ECT is an extremely effective treatment in appropriately assessed and selected patients and the evidence base for its use is significant. Early use of ECT is also associated with shorter and less costly hospital stays while it has also been reported to enhance health related quality of life and activities of daily living.
The College of Psychiatry of Ireland carried out an analysis of treatment outcomes for a group of involuntary patients administered ECT under section 59(1)(b) of the Mental Health Act 2001. 93% of patients were recorded as having made either a significant recovery or complete recovery. These figures are in keeping with international figures.
The Mental Health Commission is the regulator for mental health services in Ireland and the use of ECT is regulated in accordance with the Mental Health Act 2001 as amended. This Act includes robust legal safeguards which provide that ECT can only be administered to involuntary patients in accordance with Rules drawn up by the Commission. The most recent legislative change regarding ECT was in 2016 when the 2001 Act was amended to ensure that involuntary patients with capacity can no longer be given ECT against their will.
The latest available figures from the Commission on the use of ECT in approved centres show that 263 people were administered ECT in 2016. The majority of programmes of ECT were administered to residents who were admitted on a voluntary basis when they commenced their programme of ECT, accounting for in excess of 80% of programmes of ECT.
ECT is one form of treatment used for treating persons with mental illness and I have no specific plans to make available any recourse or redress measures for persons who have received ECT or any other treatment for mental illness.
