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Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT)

Under section 201 of the Mental Health Act 2014 the person in charge of a mental health service, where Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT) is performed, needs to provide monthly statistics on the use of ECT to the Chief Psychiatrist. The head of service making the report must use the approved form – Form 13 – ECT Statistics.

These statistics must include:

  • The number of people in respect of whom a course of ECT therapy at the mental; health service was completed or discontinued during the month;
  • The number of those people who were children;
  • The number of those people who were voluntary patients;
  • The number of those voluntary patients who were children;
  • The number of those people who were involuntary patients;
  • The number of those involuntary patients who were children;
  • The number of those people who were mentally impaired accused (MIA) under the Criminal Law Act detained at an authorised hospital;
  • The number of those MIA who were children;
  • The number of treatments with ECT in each of those courses;
  • The number of those courses that were courses of Emergency ECT;
  • Details of any serious adverse event that occurred, or is suspected of having occurred, during or after any of those courses.

Serious adverse events include:

  • Premature consciousness during a treatment;
  • Anaesthetic complications (e.g. cardiac arrhythmia) during recovery from a treatment;
  • An acute and persistent confused state during recovery from a treatment;
  • Muscle tears or vertebral column damage;
  • Severe and persistent headaches;
  • Persistent memory deficit.
 

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