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Patients’ views on the quality of care when receiving electroconvulsive therapy

^*Royal College of Psychiatrists and Goldsmiths College, Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research and Training Unit, Standon House, 21 Mansell Street, London E1 8AA, email: psp01kk{at}gold.ac.uk

Lauren Rayner, ECT Accreditation Service Project Worker

Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research and Training Unit, London

Robert Chaplin, Research Fellow, Consultant Psychiatrist

Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Research and Training Unit, London, and Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire NHS Partnership Mental Health Trust, Warneford Hospital, Oxford

Declaration of interest

All the authors work with the ECT Accreditation Service at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Centre for Quality Improvement.

AIMS AND METHOD

To examine patients’ views on the quality of care they received before, during and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), a questionnaire was completed by 389 patients who had received ECT at ECT Accreditation Service (ECTAS) member clinics.

RESULTS

The nine key standards set by ECTAS relating to quality of patient care were rated as having been met by 65% or more respondents. Most patients found staff friendly and reassuring and often commented on how this had helped reduce their anxiety prior to ECT. Patients were less positive about standards relating to being introduced to staff prior to ECT, and the quality of the waiting and post-recovery areas.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

Patient views are important indicators of quality of care and should be used to improve ECT practice. Anxiety about ECT is helped by supportive and caring staff. Improvements could be made to practices related to waiting for and recovering from ECT.

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