Good afternoon and thank you for your Freedom of Information request.
The information you have requested is provided below.
Please note: our Trust operates under two directorates: North Yorkshire and York; and Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley. Reporting for questions 4, 5, 6, 10 and 11 show the responses for each separately. All other answers are combined.
Where numbers of less than 5 are reported we use ‘<5’. This is to help individuals/individual cases being identified in line with the Data Protection Act.
Please provide Electro Convulsive Treatment (ECT) information under the FOI act to the following questions:-
1.Please supply patient’s information ECT leaflet
Please see links below:
Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) | Royal College of Psychiatrists (rcpsych.ac.uk)
20120821_mha_ect_booklet_final.pdf (cqc.org.uk)
https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/3125/ect-2019.pdf
2.Please supply patient ECT consent form
Please see attachments below
- Please supply any ECT reports/investigations
There have been no investigations. We do not hold ECT reports in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
4.How many ECT in 2023
Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley
558 treatments
North Yorkshire and York
392 treatments
5.What proportion of patients were men/women?
Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley
37% male, 63% female
North Yorkshire and York
32% male, 68% female
6.How old were they?
Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley
Within the age range of 30 years – 90 years
North Yorkshire and York
Within the age range of 35 years - 95 years
7.What proportion of patients were classified people of the global majority or racialised communities ("POC / BAME")?
<5
8.How many people covered by the equality act received ECT ?
All patients are covered by the equality act.
9.How many people were offered talking therapy prior to ECT ?
We do not historically collect this data. Therefore, a manual trawl of records would be required which would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
10.How many were receiving ECT for the first time?
Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley
32
North Yorkshire and York
23
11.How many patients consented to ECT?
Durham, Darlington and Tees Valley
17
North Yorkshire and York
13
12.How many ECT complaints were investigated outside the NHS and CCG?
None
13.How many patients died during or 1 month after ECT and what was the cause (whether or not ECT was considered the cause)?
<5
- How many patients died within 6 months after ECT and what was the cause (whether or not ECT was considered the cause)?
<5 including those reported in question 13
15.How many patients died by suicide within 6 months of receiving ECT (whether or not ECT was considered the cause)?
<5
16.How many patients have suffered complications during and after ECT and what were those complications?
None
17.Have there been any formal complaints from patients/relatives about ECT?
None
18.If so, what was their concerns?
Not applicable
- How many patients report memory loss/loss of cognitive function?
We do not historically collect this data. Therefore, a manual trawl of records would be required which would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
- What tests are used to assess memory loss/loss of cognitive function?
MOCA, CPRS.GAD7, MADRS, Hamilton, Young Mania scale
21 Have MRI or CT scans been used before and after ECT?
No
22 if so, what was the conclusion?
Not applicable
23 How does the Trust plan to prevent ECT in the future?
This question does not fulfil the criteria for a Freedom of Information request. Therefore, we are unable to respond further.
If you have any concerns about the way your request has been handled; the response received, or any ‘exemption’ decision you should, in the first instance contact me to try to resolve them. If you are not happy with the outcome you can write to our Personal Assistant at the address below and make a request for an internal review.
Susan Chamberlain
Personal Assistant
Corporate Affairs & Involvement
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust,
West Park Hospital, Edward Pease Way,
Darlington,
DL2 2TS
Good afternoon and thank you for your Freedom of Information request.
I am sorry for the delay in providing a response to your request.
As you requested, we have split your original request into four separate requests.
This response relates to the medication-themed elements of the original request. I am continuing to pursue the answers to your other questions and the other information you have requested will follow shortly.
Please provide MEDICATION ERRORS information under the FOI act to the following questions: -
- Please supply any MEDICATION ERRORS reports/investigations
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
- How many MEDICATION ERRORS in 2023?
1,512
- What proportion of patients were men/women?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
- How old were they?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
- What proportion of patients were classified people of the global majority or racialised communities ("POC / BAME")?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
6.How many people covered by the equality act endured medication errors?
Everybody receiving treatment by our Trust is covered by the equality act.
- How many MEDICATION ERRORS were investigated outside the NHS and CCG?
Zero
8.How many patients died during or 1 month after MEDICATION ERRORS and what was the cause (whether or not MEDICATION ERRORS was considered the cause)?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
9.How many patients died within 6 months after MEDICATION ERRORS and what was the cause (whether or not MEDICATION ERRORS was considered the cause)?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
10.How many patients died by suicide within 6 months of receiving MEDICATION ERRORS (whether or not MEDICATION ERRORS was considered the cause)?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
11.How many patients have suffered complications during and after MEDICATION ERRORS and what were those complications?
We do not hold this information in an easily reportable format and to retrieve it would exceed the 18 hour time limit we are able to apply to Freedom of Information requests.
12.Have there been any formal complaints from patients/relatives about MEDICATION ERRORS?
All complaints are categorised however, we do not have a code specifically for ‘Medication Errors’ although we are able to categorise any concerns that are brought to our attention that relate to Medication. We have carried out a review of those complaints that were categorised under the Medication category and none of those were actual medication errors.
13.If so, what was their concerns?
Not applicable
14.How does the Trust plan to prevent MEDICATION ERRORS in the future?
We are working within the Trust to align our processes to the Patient Safety Incident Framework. This will ensure a proportionate response to medication incidents and allow our resources to be focussed on the areas where there is the most learning. We are committed to reviewing our processes and systems to enable as many safety barriers as we can to help to prevent errors.
All our medication safety incidents are reviewed on a weekly basis by our medication safety team and by the assigned reviewer for each indent such as the ward manager.
We monitor for trends and themes and carry out targeted work for improvement in areas. We feed into the medicines management group meetings, which then escalate any changes or items for further approval to the drugs and therapeutics group.
We have implemented electronic prescribing and medicine administration (EPMA) across all our inpatient wards during 2023 and are moving towards the implementation in the community. Having this system in place should help us to address some safety aspects when it comes to medication administration and prescribing.
We have increased pharmacy presence in some community teams to help with some medicines managements aspects, which includes medication safety.
If you have any concerns about the way your request has been handled; the response received, or any ‘exemption’ decision you should, in the first instance contact me to try to resolve them. If you are not happy with the outcome you can write to our Personal Assistant at the address below and make a request for an internal review.
Susan Chamberlain
Personal Assistant
Corporate Affairs & Involvement
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust,
West Park Hospital, Edward Pease Way,
Darlington,
DL2 2TS
Or alternatively you can email at susan.chamberlain7@nhs.net
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of the internal review, you can then write to the Information Commissioner:
FOI/EIR Complaints Resolution
Information Commissioner’s Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF