Citation

Friedman T, Newton C, Coggan C, Hooley S, Patel R, Pickard M, Mitchell AJ. J. Psychosom. Res. 2006; 60(3): 273-277.

Affiliation

Department of Liaison Psychiatry, Brandon Unit, Leicester General Hospital, Leicester LE5 4PW, United Kingdom.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jpsychores.2005.07.007

PMID

16516659

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of accident and emergency (A&E) staff towards patients who self-harm through laceration. METHODS: We developed a questionnaire using focus group methodology. Questionnaires were distributed to 117 A&E staff members. RESULTS: Of the staff, 53.8% responded. The staff believed that self-laceration was an important problem but felt unskilled in managing patients. The staff were unsure of the relationship between self-laceration and both mental illness and risk of suicide. They had previously received little training in managing this condition. In those staff without previous training, a longer period working in A&E was correlated with higher levels of anger towards patients and an inclination not to view patients as mentally ill. A&E staff were keen for further training and wanted a higher proportion of patients to be seen by specialist mental health services. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for greater staff training in A&E. Despite considerable experience in the field, we found evidence for unhelpful attitudes amongst some staff. This is particularly true for more senior staff without previous DSH training, who, as a group, were less sympathetic to this group of patients. Unfavourable attitudes of health professionals are likely to adversely influence the quality of clinical care delivered to DSH patients who use self-laceration as well as those who use other methods of self-harm.