Guidance outlines role of health professionals in addressing self-harm

To continue reading please register or login to your OHW+ account.

Health professionals who encounter someone who has self-harmed should refer them to a mental health specialist for a formal assessment as soon as possible, new guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) states.
NICE has recommended that health professionals who are not mental health specialists but who have provided initial care to somebody who has self-harmed should organise a comprehensive psychosocial assessment at the earliest opportunity. This is so that the individual can get the help they need, as well as a diagnosis or more information about any mental health condition they have.
The guidance, which is subject to consultation, is aimed at all people working in all health settings, including occupational health professionals.
It also includes specific advice for health professionals working in sectors where they might encounter people at a higher risk of self-harming, including schools and prisons.
Although self-harm is one of the most common reasons for hospital attendance, with more than 200,000 hospital presentations in England each year, only a minority of people who have self-harmed have sought medical assistance at a hospital, according to NICE.
One in five people who have self-harmed will repeat self-harm within a year, and people who have self-harmed are at 30- to 50-times at risk of suicide within a year.

Dr Paul Chrisp, director of the centre for guidelines at NICE, said: “Self-harm is a growing problem and should be everyone’s business to tackle – not just those working in the mental health sector.
“These guidelines set out a way for every person who self-harms to be able to get the support and treatment they need.