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How many people have had compulsory electro-convulsive therapy?

Anne Milton I've developed an interest in the Government's inability to get its hands on health data. Guildford MP and Shadow Health Minister Anne Milton has uncovered another case with a written question:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions electro-convulsive therapy was administered to a mental health patient (a) in total and (b) as part of compulsory treatment in each of the last five years. [271724]

Phil Hope: The data requested on occasions when electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) has been administered to a mental health patient in total are in the following table.


Total and average number of procedures for electro convulsive treatment per patient where the relevant operative procedure code (OPCS-4 code= A83) recorded in either main or in any of the secondary operative procedure fields 2003-04 to 2007-08, England

Total Procedures Patient count Average procedures per patient

2003-04

12,700

1,814

7.0

2004-05

10,822

1,515

7.1

2005-06

9,173

1,211

7.6

2006-07

8,803

1,069

8.2

2007-08

7,339

878

8.4

Source:
Hospital Episode Statistics; Outpatients, The NHS Information Centre for health and social care


We do not have the data requested about ECT and compulsory treatment. However, patients who are detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 cannot generally be given ECT without their consent, unless it is authorised by a Second Opinion Appointed Doctor (SOAD). The following table shows the number of second opinion requests in England and Wales for ECT received in each calendar year followed by the percentage of those requests that resulted in the Second Opinion Appointed Doctor issuing a statutory certificate authorising ECT.

We do not know how many of these allocations were acted on.

2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Number of requests for ECT second opinions

1,803

1,833

1,871

1,778

1,703

Percentage of requests where SOAD certified treatment

86

89

88

88

76

Source:
The Care Quality Commission

So the Government doesn't know how many people are being electrocuted against their will. Outrageous.

Tom Greeves

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