Salford Community Health Council
22 Church Street
Eccles
Manchester M30 0DF.

0161-789 0474 (voice or minicom).
fax0161-788 9872
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April 1998

"Salford Community Health Council - promoting
equal opportunities in the local Health Service."

Contents

Foreword

Electro-convulsive therapy (E.C.T.) is one of the most controversial medical treatment being practised today. Despite this controversy, however, there has been almost no public debate in Salford about E.C.T. and its use. Even various innovative approaches to seeking users', survivors' and carers' views on mental health services had never even elicited any comments or concerns about it.

Unusually for a community health council (C.H.C.), Salford C.H.C. was prompted by this silence to investigate E.C.T. and its use in the Mental Health Services of Salford. As this report testifies, the project was a long and detailed one. The C.H.C. hopes that it has done justice to the subject and more especially to those people who have had E.C.T. or who will be given it in the future.

Salford C.H.C. would like to thank the following people for their help, advice and support during the Project:

• All the users, survivors and carers who gave their time and views on what for some of them is a distressing subject.

• Staff and managers of the Mental Health Services of Salford N.H.S. Trust:
  Peter Clarke; Steve Colgan; Avril Harding; Les Hardy; Keith Hyde; Gillian Moss; Malcolm Rae.

• Everyone else in Salford who helped with to the Project: Margaret Argyle;
  Liz Farrell and Jacquie Muskett of the Library at Salford and Trafford Health Authority; Pat Garrett, Muriel Mann and the members of Survivors in Salford; Sam Portnoy.

• Everyone else who contributed to the Project, including: the Association of Community Health Councils for England and Wales; Pat Butterfield and E.C.T. Anonymous; Patricia Dawson and the Scottish Association of Health Councils; Alex Doherty; John Foot; Sue Kemsley; Ian Parker and the members of the North West Right to Refuse Electroshock Campaign; Jacky Ward-Panter of North West Mind.

Salford C.H.C. hopes that the report, and the responses to its contents and recommendations, will help to create better and more effective mental health services for the people of Salford and those further afield.

Chris Dabbs,
Chief Officer.27 April, 1998.