Using shock therapy on mentally ill ‘should be outlawed’ in Ireland

The controversial use of electric shock therapy to treat mentally ill patients against their will should be outlawed immediately, according to the Mental Health Commission (MHC) after a report found its use without consent has increased.

An MHC assessment of the use of seclusion, restraint and electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in inpatient mental health services in 2013 found use of ECT without consent had risen by 70%.

Chairman John Saunders said they had been “asking for years” for the law to be changed to prevent this happening.