Authors' objectives:

This report provides guidelines on the short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary care.

Authors' recommendations: Key priorities for implementation Respect, understanding and choice: People who have self-harmed should be treated with the same care, respect and privacy as any patient. In addition, healthcare professionals should take full account of the likely distress associated with self-harm. Staff training: Clinical and non-clinical staff who have contact with people who self-harm in any setting should be provided with appropriate training to equip them to understand and care for people who have self-harmed. Activated charcoal: Ambulance and emergency department services whose staff may be involved in the care of people who have self-harmed by poisoning should ensure that activated charcoal is immediately available to staff at all times. Triage: All people who have self-harmed should be offered a preliminary psychosocial assessment at triage (or at the initial assessment in primary or community settings) following an act of self-harm. Assessment should determine a persons mental capacity, their willingness to remain for further (psychosocial) assessment, their level of distress and the possible presence of mental illness. Consideration should be given to introducing the Australian Mental Health Triage Scale, as it is a comprehensive assessment scale that provides an effective process for rating clinical urgency so that patients are seen in a timely manner. If a person who has self-harmed has to wait for treatment, he or she should be offered an environment that is safe, supportive and minimises any distress. For many patients, this may be a separate, quiet room with supervision and regular contact with a named member of staff to ensure safety. Treatment: People who have self-harmed should be offered treatment for the physical consequences of self-harm, regardless of their willingness to accept psychosocial assessment or psychiatric treatment. Adequate anaesthesia and/or analgesia should be offered to people who have self-injured throughout the process of suturing or other painful treatments. Staff should provide full information about the treatment options, and make all efforts necessary to ensure that someone who has self-harmed can give, and has the opportunity to give, meaningful and informed consent before any and each procedure (for example, taking the person to hospital by ambulance) or treatment is initiated. Assessment of needs: All people who have self-harmed should be offered an assessment of needs, which should be comprehensive and include evaluation of the social, psychological and motivational factors specific to the act of self-harm, current suicidal intent and hopelessness, as well as a full mental health and social needs assessment. Assessment of risk: All people who have self-harmed should be assessed for risk: this assessment should include identification of the main clinical and demographic features known to be associated with risk of further self-harm and/or suicide, and identification of the key psychological characteristics associated with risk, in particular depression, hopelessness and continuing suicidal intent. Psychological, psychosocial and pharmacological interventions: Following psychosocial assessment for people who have self-harmed, the decision about referral for further treatment and help should be based upon a comprehensive psychiatric, psychological and social assessment, including an assessment of risk, and should not be determined solely on the basis of having self-harmed.

Authors' methods: Clinical guideline

Project Status: Completed

URL for project: http://www.nice.org.uk/page.aspx?o=213665

Year Published: 2004

English language abstract: An English language summary is available

Publication Type: Not Assigned

Country: England, United Kingdom

Organisation Name: National Institute for Clinical Excellence

Contact Address: MidCity Place, 71 High Holborn, London WC1V 6NA, UK. Tel: +44 020 7067 5800; Fax: +44 020 7067 5801

Contact Name: nice@nice.nhs.uk

Contact Email: nice@nice.nhs.uk

Copyright: National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE)