Mental Health Act 2001

Electro-convulsive therapy.

59

59.—(1) A programme of electro-convulsive therapy shall not be administered to a patient unless either—

(a) the patient gives his or her consent in writing to the administration of the programme of therapy, or

(b) where the patient is unable F39[…] to give such consent—

(i) the programme of therapy is approved (in a form specified by the Commission) by the consultant psychiatrist responsible for the care and treatment of the patient, and

(ii) the programme of therapy is also authorised (in a form specified by the Commission) by another consultant psychiatrist following referral of the matter to him or her by the first-mentioned psychiatrist.

(2) The Commission shall make rules providing for the use of electro-convulsive therapy and a programme of electro-convulsive therapy shall not be administered to a patient except in accordance with such rules.

Annotations

Amendments:

F39

Deleted (15.02.2016) by Mental Health (Amendment) Act 2015 (58/2015), s. 2, S.I. No. 68 of 2016.

Modifications (not altering text):

C27

Compliance with advance healthcare directive confirmed with certain exceptions by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (64/2015), s. 85(7)(a), as substituted (26.04.2023) by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022 (46/2022), s. 74, S.I. No. 195 of 2023.

Validity and applicability of advance healthcare directive

85. ...

(7) F127[(a) Subject to subsections (1) to (5) and paragraph (b), an advance healthcare directive shall, insofar as provided for by this Part, be complied with unless, at the time when it is proposed to treat the directive-maker—

(i) his or her treatment is regulated by Part 4 of the Act of 2001, other than where he or she is detained under that Act on the grounds that he or she is suffering from a mental disorder within the meaning of section 3(1)(b) of that Act, or

(ii) he or she is the subject of a conditional discharge order under section 13A of the Criminal Law (Insanity) Act 2006,

and sections 56, 57, 59 and 60 of the Act of 2001 shall be construed accordingly.]

C28

Reference to "patient" construed by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (64/2015), s. 136(1A), as inserted (26.04.2023) by Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, s. 91, S.I. No. 194 of 2023.

Patients whose treatment is regulated by Part 4 of Act of 2001

136. ...

[(1A) Subject to subsection (1)—

(a) a reference in section 56, 57, 59 or 60 of the Act of 2001 to a "patient" in the context of the patient giving his or her consent shall include a decision-making representative appointed in respect of the patient and in respect of a matter to which the relevant consent relates, and

(b) a patient shall not be regarded as incapable or unable to give consent for the purposes of section 57, 59 or 60, as the case may be, of the Act of 2001 where a decision-making representative is appointed in respect of the patient and in respect of a matter to which the relevant consent relates.]

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