An independent audit of electroconvulsive therapy patient information leaflets in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales

Abstract

Objectives

To evaluate the accuracy of patient information leaflets about electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) used in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, and their compliance with the principle of informed consent.

Design and Methods

To replicate an audit in England, Freedom of Information Act requests were sent to the 26 providers of ECT for their ECT patient information leaflet. These were scored, by two independent raters, on the same 40-item accuracy measure used in the England audit.

Results

The number of accurate statements (out of a possible 29) ranged from seven to 20, with a mean of 16.9. The most frequently omitted statements included: cardiovascular risks (mentioned by five leaflets), that it is not known how ECT works (3), risk of mortality (2), risks from multiple general anaesthetic procedures (2), how to access a legal advocate (2) and that that there is no evidence of long-term benefits (1). The leaflets made between six and nine inaccurate statements (out of 11) with a mean of 7.0. Nineteen minimised memory loss, blamed the memory loss on depression, claimed that ECT is the ‘most effective treatment’ and asserted it has very high response rates without mentioning similar placebo response rates. All 23 leaflets wrongly told patients that ECT saves lives.

Conclusions

Electroconvulsive therapy information leaflets in these three nations are barely more accurate than those in England and do not comply with the ethical principle of informed consent. Patients and families across the UK are systematically being misled about the risks they are taking and the limited nature of ECT's benefits.