CUTTACK: The Electroconvulsive Therapy (ECT), also known as electroshock therapy or shock treatment, has been shut down for more than eight months at the Mental Health Institute of SCB Medical College and Hospital.
Despite the availability of ECT machine, which is used to treat acute mental disorders at the institute, psychiatric patients have been deprived of the treatment leading to deterioration of their condition. As per reports, ECT plays a vital role in treating patients suffering from acute depression and not responding to standard treatment or medication. The therapy is also used when patients pose a threat to themselves or others and it is too dangerous to wait for the medication to take effect. It is among the safest and most effective treatment options available for treating depression.
The therapy involves placing electrodes on the patient’s scalp and administering a finely controlled electric current. The current causes a brief seizure in the brain. ECT is one of the fastest ways to relieve symptoms in severely depressed or suicidal patients. It is also effective for patients who suffer from mania or other mental illnesses.
The therapy was provided thrice a week at the premier Government-run hospital after sedating the patients. However, it was discontinued following a notification directing psychiatrists to conduct ECT under anaesthesia with the help of anesthesiologist.
Doctors at the hospital said they faced difficulties due to shortage of anesthesiologists at SCB Mental Health Institute following which the therapy was stopped. In a joint petition to the Health and Family Welfare Secretary, Revenue Divisional Commissioner, Cuttack Collector and Chief District Medical Officer, volunteers Achyuta Kumar Sahu, Dipak Acharya, Pardip Singh, Rabindra Acharya and Chakradhar Sahu have urged for resuming the therapy at the Mental Health Institute of the hospital.
They have alleged that in absence of ECT at the institute, poor patients incur a lot of expenditure on treatment of mental ailments as they depend on private facilities.