Having a history of diagnosed depression is not an automatic bar to holding a medical certificate. Following the cessation of treatment, a medical certificate should be issued if it is clear that the patient has recovered fully from the illness, although a period of one third the time that medication was taken for is required to ensure that symptoms do not return - eg two months if anti-depressants were taken for six months.
The case you refer to however is much more severe as you mention ECT treatment which is usually only administered to patients who are hospitalised suffering from very severe depression. A case this severe would necessarily involve referral to a consultant psychiatrist which would mean it might be more difficult to qualify for a medical certificate following recovery and cessation of treatment.
flying doc - What you say about BA is not true - they look at each case individually and decide on the basis of that whether or not a person will be disqualified. For example, a case which is treated with medication only and does not require referral to a psychiatrist is likely not to cause a problem. I know of at least one person who flies for BA now who has been diagnosed with depression in the past.
The other problem here is that a great many people suffer from the illness at some time and many go undiagnosed and do not receive treatment. There are also a large number of pilots who have suffered from depression and kept quiet about it and gone on flying when it was not safe to do so for fear being grounded temporarily or permanently.
I have suffered from a depression which was diagnosed and required treatment with anti-depressants but was not more severe than that and was told by the CAA that this would not be a bar to holding a medical certificate in the future.
I also have one question - to what extent to Airlines or any other employers have the right to access your medical records - and do they always ask whether there has been any history of depression? Thanks for any replies.