Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is facing a probe over whether it will review and phase out a ‘barbaric’ medical procedure used to treat severe depression.
Liberal Democrat councillor Michael Lilley decried the ‘continued use’ of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) on the Island in a submitted written question to the Adult Social Care, Public Health and Housing Needs Committee last Thursday (11th September 2025).
ECT involves running electrical currents through the brain to bring about a brief seizure.
‘Still actively administered’ at Sevenacres
Councillor Lilley said ECT is ‘still actively administered’ at Sevenacres, a mental health unit at the St Mary’s Hospital site, with 58 patients in 2024 and 11 so far in 2025.
The representative for Ryde Appley and Elmfield cited recent research described as the ‘largest-ever’ international survey of ECT recipients, led by Dr John Read, an academic at the University of East London (UEL).
UEL has said the study reveals that ‘most patients and their families report little or no benefit from the treatment’, and in many instances say it ‘made things worse’.
Read: Claims that ECT is effective are, at best, unproven and, at worst, misleading
Dr Read, based at UEL’s School of Childhood and Social Care, said,
“No studies show that ECT has any benefits at all beyond the end of treatment.
“Our findings, from the largest survey ever conducted, indicate that claims that ECT is effective are, at best, unproven and, at worst, misleading.
“With no robust evidence in four decades, and a high proportion of patients reporting serious long-term harm, it’s time for a fundamental re-evaluation of ECT’s role in mental health care.”
Lilley: This continued use of ECT in my view is barbaric
Councillor Lilley said,
“I am shocked that ECT is still being used as extensively on the Isle of Wight. 58 patients may not seem high, but within the population of 140,000 and a total of about 2,500 ECT patients across the UK, 58 is considerably high.
“ECT patients are primarily women. This continued use of ECT in my view is barbaric and based on poor medical/psychiatric evidence.”
Mosdell: The question was “very valid” and “quite scary”
Independent chair of the adult social care, public health and housing needs committee Councillor Clare Mosdell passed Councillor Lilley’s question to the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
She told the chamber last week the question was “very valid” and “quite scary”, adding that the trust had been asked to provide a written response.
Bowers: A treatment that can be life-saving and enables recovery
Dr Alexis Bowers, Consultant Psychiatrist and Clinical Lead for Adult Mental Health Services and ECT at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, said,
“Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is a recognised evidence-based treatment recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) for people with severe mental illness where the patient chooses ECT based on past treatment experience, where other approaches have not worked or when urgent treatment is needed.
“It is given under general anaesthetic following careful assessment by senior clinicians. It is provided to informal consenting patients or to those under the Mental Health Act with appropriate safeguards.
“We recognise there are different views about ECT, but for many people it is a treatment that can be life-saving and enables recovery. Our priority is always to provide our patients safe, effective care in line with national guidance and standards.”
Article edit
11.50am 17th Sep 2025 – AB comment added
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
