The first machine

Press, 24 May 1977, Page 19

The first machine

The first machine used to administer shock treatment in New Zealand was built in 1943 by a Christchurch electrica' engineer. “It was my own design from top to bottom,” said Mr L. S. Johns. The only knowledge he had to base his design on was a brief report in the “British Medical Journal”; although, he said, this report wasn’t much good. It was fairly widely known that Cerletti and Bini had experimented with electricity to trigger off convulsions but there were still no machines

available on the market to produce and control the current. “The Health Department gave their permission for the use of the equipment on the condition that I wai present when the first treatment was given," said Mr Johns. At the time he was general manager of Gough, Gough and Hamer, Ltd, and could work on the machine only in his spare time. The job was more difficult as it was wartime and he was not allowed to import any parts. It took 18 months to

build the machine, which was then installed in Sunnyside Hospital. “The results were spectacular from the start; there were 1000 permanent cures in the first sever, years,” said Mr Johns. Some patients who were previously thought to be permanently institutionalised were among the cured, he said. “The Mental Hospital staff were aware that there would be a short period of amnesia after treatment: it was not until later that they learned

that only certain kinds of depression respond to E.C.T.,” said Mr Johns. He built only the one machine. The Health Department asked him if he could make another eight; but by this time the machines had started to appear on the British market. The machine he built was used for about 20 years; it was very like the one used now at Princess Margaret Hospital, said Mr Johns.