John Gilroy (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Electroconvulsive therapy, ECT, is a treatment used in mental health services which involves the passing of an electric current through a person's brain. In 2012, the last year for which we have figures available, 244 patients received ECT treatment, of whom, incredibly, 27 received it without their consent, of whom four were unwilling to give it. The Mental Health Act, section 59, is the governing legislation in this regard. All that is required, if a patient is unwilling or unable to give consent, is the recommendation of two consultant psychiatrists. Last week my friend and colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, indicated her willingness to remove one element of section 59, namely, the words "unwilling to give consent". Perhaps she does not fully understand the position and the argument being made in this regard. I, therefore, ask the Leader to invite the Minister of State to come to the House in order that we can impress on her the importance of deleting the entire section which allows ECT treatment to be given with the consent of two consultant psychiatrists without the patient's consent. There is no other legislation of which I am aware on the Statute Book which allow such a deeply invasive procedure to be performed without people's consent. If there is a necessity for ECT treatment - I have grave doubts about this having been a psychiatric nurse for 30 years - as a measure of last resort or as a life-saving procedure, the argument should be made in court. The authority should not be given to two medical personnel.