Deciding about ECT

Consenting to having ECT

Like any significant treatment in medicine or surgery, you will be asked for your consent, or permission, to have ECT. The ECT treatment, the reasons for doing it and the possible benefits and side effects will be explained to you.

If you decide to go ahead, you will be given a consent form to sign. It is a record that ECT has been explained to you, that you understand what is going to happen, and that you give your consent to having it. Unless it is an emergency you will be given at least 24 hours to think about this and to discuss it with your relatives, friends or advisors.
You can withdraw your consent at any point, even just before the first treatment. You should be given information explaining your rights about consenting to treatment.

More information on giving consent to having ECT is available on the Care Quality Commission (CQC) website.

 

Can you make your wishes about having ECT known in advance?

If you have feelings about ECT, either for or against, you should tell the doctors and nurses caring for you. You should also tell friends, family or anyone else you would like to support you or speak for you. Doctors must consider these views when they think about whether or not ECT is in your best interests.

If, when you are well, you are sure you would not want ECT if you were to become ill again, then you may want to write a statement of your wishes. This can be known as an ‘advance decision’ in England, Northern Ireland and Wales, or an ‘advance statement’ in Scotland. These wishes should be followed except under very specific circumstances. This is a complicated topic and beyond the scope of this resource.

Some people who have previously been successfully treated with ECT have found it so helpful that they have recorded ahead of time that they want to have ECT if they become ill again, even if they say at the time that they do not want it.

 

Can ECT be given to you without your permission?

If someone has the ‘capacity’ to decide whether or not to have ECT, it cannot be given without their fully informed consent.

Some people become so unwell they are said to ‘lack capacity’ to make decisions about ECT. This means they cannot properly understand the nature, purpose or effects of the treatment, remember this information, or weigh up the pros and cons of having ECT.

There are laws in the UK that allow doctors to make decisions about giving ECT treatment to people in this situation. These come with legal safeguards to ensure treatment is only given if it is absolutely necessary.
This is the case for around half of people who receive ECT treatment. People who have ECT in this way do just as well as those who have been able to give consent.

When someone gets better and ‘regains capacity’ their consent must be sought again. Further information about consent and ECT can be found on the CQC website.