Deliberate self-harm

Abstract

Aims and MethodA repetition after 5 years of a prospective case note audit, looking at the impact of a recently established deliberate self-harm (DSH) assessment team on the quality of DSH assessments at Kettering general hospital.ResultsAspecialist DSH team achieved improvement in the quality of psychiatric assessments for the majority of patients who harmed themselves. Assessments of mental state by accident and emergency (A & E) and medical staff before referral to the psychiatric team remain problematic.Clinical ImplicationsSetting up aspecialist team to assess patients who harm themselves can improve the quality of the psychiatric care they receive, but emphasis must still be placed on an adequate assessment of mental state by medical and nursing staff in A&E and on medical wards.