The
basis of the event is the recent debate on the involuntary administration of
the controversial Electro Convulsive Treatment (ECT) and the concerns this
poses for the rights of people with mental health problems.
Presentations will be made by: Dr. Pat Bracken (Consultant Psychiatrist, West Cork Mental
Health Services); John McCarthy (Mental Health Campaigner, Founder MadPride
Ireland); and Paddy McGowan (Expert by Experience Lecturer, Dublin City
University).
All speakers have been involved in a campaign to delete
section 59b of the 2001 Mental Health Act which allows ECT to be given to the
non-consenting patient simply on the order of a consultant psychiatrist if that
decision is supported by any colleague. While patients, their carers and other
professionals may be consulted, the Act, as it currently stands, gives the
power to order ECT to the doctors alone. This is in direct contrast with the
philosophy of user-centered services promoted by our national mental health
policy Vision for Change. A Vision for Change (2006) provides a big shift from
a culture of medical paternalism and demands a new, more democratic, culture
that is guided by a spirit of partnership, genuine consultation and
multi-disciplinary decision-making.
Dr Pat Bracken argues “in the end, the proposal to remove
section 59(B) is not really about ECT at all, but about power and authority in
the Irish mental health system. It is about trying to advance the values and
vision of A Vision for Change. It is also an attempt to position psychiatry in
a more positive, democratic relationship with patients, carers and other
professionals. It is also hoped that by removing powers such as those in
Section 59(B), psychiatry will be rendered a less feared and more approachable
profession”.
The talk is free and open to all. Discussion will follow the
talk. The event is supported by the Institute for Social Sciences in the 21st
Century (ISS21) and the Irish Social Sciences Platform.
1410MMcS
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