HC Deb 27 May 1988 vol 134 c410W
Ms. Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what regulations or guidelines are currently in force regarding the use of electro-convulsive therapy.

Mrs. Currie

In general electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) stands in the same position as any other treatment which may be offered or recommended in the clinical setting. Ethical and clinical standards are enforced by the professional organisations of practitioners such as the General Medical Council. For patients detained under section 58 of the Mental Health Act, however, regulation 16 specifies ECT as one of the treatments requiring consent or a second opinion. Administration of ECT for a detained patient under that section requires either the patient's informed consent or a second opinion from a doctor appointed by the Mental Health Act Commission that the treatment should be given.

Ms. Ruddock

To ask the Secretary of State for Social Services what comparisons his Department has made of the frequency of use of electro-convulsive therapy in Britain and in other countries.

Mrs. Currie

We have no information on the frequency of use of electro-convulsive therapy in other countries which would enable us to make comparisons with treatment in this country. The Department is, however, aware of two major studies of psychiatrists' attitudes and practice with regard to electro-convulsive therapy, one in the United Kingdom, one in the United States of America, references to which are contained in "Essentials of Postgraduate Psychiatry" by Hill, Murray and Thorley (Second Edition).