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Abstract
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Mental health patients are at the highest risk of suicide in the first three months after their discharge from hospital, especially in the first two weeks, latest figures have shown.
The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness found that, from 2002 to 2012, 3225 suicides by mental health patients occurred in the United Kingdom within three months of discharge, equal to 18% of all patient suicides.
The inquiry, commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership, found that the highest risk in England, Northern Ireland, and Scotland was in the first week, when 526 patients died. In Wales the highest risk period was during the first two weeks.
The report called for careful and effective care planning at discharge, including for patients who discharge themselves. Louis Appleby, who led the study, said, “Early follow-up appointments should be strengthened, and reducing the length of inpatient stay to ease pressure on beds should not be an aim in itself. Instead, health professionals should ensure that the adverse events that preceded the admission have been addressed.”
The report also highlighted 24 deaths in England and Wales of patients who had been restrained by ward staff in the 24 hours before their death, six of which occurred within one hour of restraint. It added that annual figures were low but that five of these deaths occurred in 2012.
The report also recommended that suicide within three days of hospital discharge, as well as deaths and serious injuries caused by restraint, should be classed as NHS “never events,” which must be recorded and notified to commissioners and inspectorates.
Hanging remained the most common method of suicide in the general population and in mental health patients. In 2012, 2994 suicides by hanging occurred in the UK, of which 813 were by mental health patients. Nav Kapur, head of suicide research for the inquiry, said, “The increase in hanging may be related to restrictions on the availability of other methods and the misconception that hanging is a quick and painless way to die—but this is not the case, and it is also highly distressing for family members who discover the body.”
The report showed that the fall in homicides committed by mental health patients that was reported last year for England was sustained, but there was no further fall. From 2002 to 2012, 828 people who were convicted of homicide in the UK were mental health patients—an average of 75 a year. In 2012, 66 homicides were recorded in the UK by mental health patients.
Language: en |