| RCP
launches new accreditation service to raise standards for ECT
May
3, 2003 -
The Royal
College of Psychiatrists is bidding to raise standards in the administration
of ECT. Here, below, is a summary of the action to be taken, as
displayed on the college's website.
.......
To
coincide with the publication of the NICE guidance on the use of
electroconvulsive therapy, the Royal College of Psychiatrists is
launching a new ECT Accreditation Service (ECTAS) which aims to
raise standards in the administration of electroconvulsive therapy.
ECTAS
will do this by helping staff in ECT clinics demonstrate and improve
the quality of their work through a process of self-review and a
visit by an external team. This will take place over a period of
6 months and involve input from professionals and service users.
Participating clinics that fulfil essential standards will be awarded
an accreditation rating.
This
new service will be managed by the College Research Unit, which
has extensive experience of managing quality networks.
"The
College has over many years campaigned to improve training and standards
in the administration of ECT. ECTAS will work towards satisfying
these standards in a supportive and multidisciplinary way. ECTAS
welcomes the standards on the administration of ECT contained in
the NICE guidance and the endorsement it gives to the College Handbook
on ECT. ECTAS will incorporate the NICE standards into its appraisals
of ECT clinics," said Professor Paul Lelliott, Director of
the College's Research Unit.
Although
the College fully supports NICE's commitment to establishing standards
about how ECT is administered, its Special Committee on ECT submitted
an appeal to NICE.
One of the grounds on which the committee did not agree with NICE,
was that ECT should only be reserved for the treatment of severe
depression. ECT
is also indicated for moderately major depressive disorder and in
patients who have previously responded well to the treatment.
This
appeal was not, however, upheld by NICE. For further information
on ECT, see the Scottish ECT Network.
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