If you are invited to a Tribunal hearing about electroconvulsive treatment (ECT), this information is for you.
ECT is the use of a brief electrical current to change the brain’s electrical activity.
ECT is only given to a person when:
- they have been given medicine to put them in a very deep sleep called a general anaesthetic, and
- they have been given medicine to relax their muscles called muscle relaxant.
Find out more about ECT on the Department of Health website.
If you are under 18 years old your psychiatrist must apply to the Tribunal for permission before they can give you ECT.
If you are over 18 years old and have capacity to give informed consent, you decide whether to have ECT.
You have capacity to give informed consent if you are able to:
- understand and remember the information given to you about ECT
- use that information to make a decision
- communicate your decision by words, gestures or any other means.
If you do not have the capacity to give informed consent your psychiatrist must apply to the Tribunal for permission before they can give you ECT.
If your psychiatrist applies for permission to give you ECT, we will invite you to a hearing which will be held within 5 business days.
The Tribunal can decide to make an ECT order that you must have ECT if you meet the criteria in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Act 2022.
If the Tribunal makes an ECT order it must decide:
- how long the order will last (up to a maximum of 6 months)
- the number of treatments (up to a maximum of 12 treatments).
If you are a compulsory patient over 18 years old, the Tribunal can only authorise ECT if:
- you do not have capacity to give consent and
- there is no less restrictive way for you to be treated.
If you are a voluntary patient over 18 years old the Tribunal can only authorise ECT if:
- you do not have capacity to give informed consent and
- there is no less restrictive way for you to be treated and
- you have an instructional directive giving informed consent to ECT or your medical treatment decision maker gives informed consent to ECT in writing.
If you are a compulsory patient under 18 years old the Tribunal can only authorise ECT if:
- you have given informed consent in writing or
- you do not have capacity to give informed consent and
- there is no less restrictive way for you to be treated.
If you are a voluntary patient under 18 years old the Tribunal can only authorise ECT if:
- you have given informed consent in writing or
- you do not have capacity to give informed consent but your medical treatment decision maker has given informed consent in writing and
- there is no less restrictive way for you to be treated.
You can plan what you want to say at your hearing about ECT by writing down:
- what you understand about ECT
- whether you want ECT and why
- any other treatment you would prefer and why
- anything in the report you think is wrong.
Find out more about how to prepare for your Tribunal hearing.