A BENDIGO man claims he has been forced to undergo controversial shock therapy to treat bipolar disorder.
Daniel Watson and his family have accused staff at Bendigo Health’s acute psychiatric inpatient unit of ignoring their pleas to cancel the treatment.
Mr Watson, a father of two girls, said he could not speak for four months when he previously received electroconvulsive therapy.
The therapy, known as ECT, involves a small amount of electric current being sent to the brain, causing a seizure that lasts about 40 seconds.
Most treatments involve six shock doses.
A Bendigo Health spokeswoman was unable to comment on the claims.
She said involuntary psychiatric patients at the Alexander Bayne Centre could not give Bendigo Health consent to discuss their medical details.
Mr Watson, 37, believes he was to receive ECT earlier this week, but after repeated protests the treatment was cancelled.
He remains a patient at the centre and says he has had no clear indication of when he will be released. Mr Watson believes the spectre of ECT lingers as long as he is inside.
Victoria and Tasmania are the only Australian states in which tribunals have no jurisdiction to overrule a decision by clinicians to perform ECT.
“Last week I was here, talking to the doctor and everyone was happy with me, everyone was fine,” Mr Watson said.
“They said next week . . . you’ll be going home, there’s nothing wrong with you.”
Mr Watson said he tried to leave the centre on November 5 to pay rent.
He was caught after jumping the fence and was told the following day that he would be receiving ECT within the week.
“If it goes ahead I won’t be able to leave here with a functioning brain,” Mr Watson said.
“I want to be able to leave here and go to work.
“I want to be able to converse with people. Last time I couldn’t speak for four months.”
Mr Watson’s maternal grandmother, Patricia Reed, said the treatment turned her grandson into a zombie.
Mr Watson last received the treatment about 18 months ago, the first time ECT had been used since he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 1993.
“I know looking after people like Daniel can be a hard job, but they just take the easy way out,” Ms Reed said.
“They think, right we’ll knock him out and he’ll be no trouble for a few days. When you’re like a zombie, you’re no trouble and they’re happy.
“But that’s no good for the people that care about them.”
Mr Watson’s father died a long time ago, and his mother lives in the US. He was raised by his maternal grandmother.
He has limited contact with his two daughters, who are aged six and four.
“I just want (Bendigo Health) to say we won’t ever do it to him again,” Ms Reed said.
The Mental Health Legal Centre hopes a review of the Mental Health Act will one day give people like Mr Watson a way out.
At the moment, clinicians can prescribe ECT for patients without their consent if all other methods have been exhausted.
Ms Reed said no other treatment had been tried for her grandson. Under the Mental Health Act, she has so right of appeal regarding the decision to prescribe ECT.
The legal centre’s submission to the review reads in part:
“The Victorian Act contains particularly complex criteria which must be met before someone can be given ECT against their will. What it lacks is access to a tribunal to seek to show that those criteria are met or not.
“MHLC previously proposed that a person should be able to challenge ECT if administered against their will and that they should be able to appeal to an independent tribunal.”
MHLC lawyer Karina Bonney said cases like Mr Watson’s highlighted the act’s inadequacies.
Ms Bonney was contacted by Mr Watson last week to discuss his case.
The submission to the State Government acknowledges community concern in relation to shock therapies.
“ECT is still a controversial treatment in the sense that it causes concern in the community.
“Because of consumer and community views of ECT we recommend that if the person has expressed verbally or in a written advance directive that they oppose ECT this must be respected.”
A Bendigo Health psychiatric services spokesman said ECT remained the most effective treatment available for patients with certain medical conditions.
“The treatment is administered under a light general anaesthetic and is painless and very safe.
“Like any other treatment, like medication, it can have side-effects in some people - of which the vast majority are minor in nature, are short-lived and can be easily treated.
“ECT does not cause brain damage or personality change.
“There is a large body of scientific evidence that demonstrates the value of ECT for certain medical conditions.
“A number of patients receive ECT on a voluntary basis, some requesting it as the treatment of choice for their condition, based on their previous experience of the treatment.”
SANE Australia, a national mental health charity, said more than 80 per cent of people with depression who received ECT said it helped them.
“Research also indicates that ECT is a safe treatment, with no evidence of long-term damage to brain functions,” a SANE spokesman said.
“Some people experience a temporary effect on memory. However, this is generally mild and improves over time.”
The SANE Helpline on 1800 18 SANE (7263) provides information, advice and referral on mental illness. Lifeline provides 24-hour counselling - telephone 13 11 14.
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