Ban ‘Cuckoo’s Nest’ electric shock therapy, patients say

MINISTERS are facing calls to order an inquiry into a ‘primitive’ treatment for depression that involves passing electric currents through the brain.

Electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) has been used for almost a century to treat an array of psychiatric disorders including mania, catatonia and schizophrenia.

But critics say evidence supporting its use is poor, while its potential side effects – including memory loss, sight problems and trauma – can be debilitating.

The effects of ECT were famously portrayed in the 1975 film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, starring Jack Nicholson – although medics say the gruesome fictional account bears no relation to the reality of ECT. More than 40 opponents of the treatment, including doctors and patients, have written to UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock demanding a review of the procedure, which is given to thousands of NHS patients every year.

One of the letter’s organisers, Dr Sue Cunliffe, from Worcestershire, said: ‘People wouldn’t believe that something as primitive as ECT is still being used in modern psychiatry. It should have been banned decades ago.’ The Royal College of Psychiatrists continues to back its use, saying it can be ‘life-saving’ for patients with severe depression.

Dr Rupert McShane, chairman of the College’s Committee on ECT and Related Treatments, said: ‘The close monitoring of potential side effects is a routine part of practice and allows clinicians to adjust treatment accordingly.’