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Campaigners have protested against new legislation to allow controversial brain surgery without patients’ consent.

Neurosurgery for Mental Disorder (NMD), also called psychosurgery, involves using a laser to destroy brain tissue. It is used for a relatively small number of patients suffering some forms of severe mental illness and there is considerable debate about its effectiveness. The surgery is irreversible.

At present it is against the law to give NMD unless the patient has given informed consent. In 1991 the United Nations general assembly declared that psychosurgery and other intrusive and irreversible treatments should only be carried out "where the patient has given informed consent, and an independent external body has satisfied itself that there is genuine informed consent".

Yet on 1 July new regulations under the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 will change the law so that it is possible for this operation to be performed on someone who is not capable of consenting, providing the court of session has given its approval.

Richard Norris, policy director of the Scottish Association of Mental Health, said: "It is surprising that the Scottish executive has chosen to ignore professional opinion as well as organisations such as our own, which have consistently campaigned against the introduction of this measure."

Between 1990 and 2000, 28 patients received NMD at the unit in Dundee. SAMH is to urgently press MSPs to oppose the implementation of the relevant regulations contained in the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000.