Harriet Bickley

Suicide within 12 months of contact with mental health services: national clinical survey

Objective: To describe the clinical circumstances in which psychiatric patients commit suicide. Design: National clinical survey. Setting: England and Wales. Subjects: A two year sample of people who had committed suicide, in particular those who had been in contact with mental health services in the 12 months before death. Main outcome measures: Proportion of suicides in people who had had recent contact with mental health services; proportion of suicides in inpatients; proportion of people committing suicide and timing of suicide within three months of hospital discharge; proportion receiving high priority under the care programme approach; proportion who were recently non-compliant and not attending. Results: 10 040 suicides were notified to the study between April 1996 and March 1998, of whom 2370 (24%; 95% confidence interval 23% to 24%) had had contact with mental health services in the year before death. Data were obtained on 2177, a response rate of 92%. In general these subjects had broad social and clinical needs. Alcohol and drug misuse were common. 358 (16%; 15% to 18%) were psychiatric inpatients at the time of death, 21% (17% to 25%) of whom were under special observation. Difficulties in observing patients because of ward design and nursing shortages were both reported in around a quarter of inpatient suicides. 519 (24%; 22% to 26%) suicides occurred within three months of hospital discharge, the highest number occurring in the first week after discharge. 914 (43%; 40% to 44%) were in the highest priority category for community care. 488 (26% excluding people whose compliance was unknown; 24% to 28%) were non-compliant with drug treatment while 486 (28%; 26% to 30%) community patients had lost contact with services. Most people who committed suicide were thought to have been at no or low immediate risk at the final service contact. Mental health teams believed suicide could have been prevented in 423 (22%; 20% to 24%) cases. Conclusions: Several suicide prevention measures in mental health services are implied by these findings, including measures to improve compliance and prevent loss of contact with services. Inpatient facilities should remove structural difficulties in observing patients and fixtures that can be used in hanging. Prevention of suicide after discharge may require earlier follow up in the community. Better suicide prevention in psychiatric patients is likely to need measures to improve the safety of mental health services as a whole, rather than specific measures for people known to be at high risk.

Implementation of mental health service recommendations in England and Wales and suicide rates, 1997–2006: a cross-sectional and before-and-after observational study

BACKGROUND Research investigating which aspects of mental health service provision are most effective in prevention of suicide is scarce. We aimed to examine the uptake of key mental health service recommendations over time and to investigate the association between their implementation and suicide rates. METHODS We did a descriptive, cross-sectional, and before-and-after analysis of national suicide data in England and Wales. We collected data for individuals who died by suicide between 1997 and 2006 who were in contact with mental health services in the 12 months before death. Data were obtained as part of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness. When denominator data were missing, we used information from the Mental Health Minimum Data Set. We compared suicide rates for services implementing most of the recommendations with those implementing fewer recommendations and examined rates before and after implementation. We stratified results for level of socioeconomic deprivation and size of service provider. FINDINGS The average number of recommendations implemented increased from 0·3 per service in 1998 to 7·2 in 2006. Implementation of recommendations was associated with lower suicide rates in both cross-sectional and before-and-after analyses. The provision of 24 h crisis care was associated with the biggest fall in suicide rates: from 11·44 per 10 000 patient contacts per year (95% CI 11·12-11·77) before to 9·32 (8·99-9·67) after (p<0·0001). Local policies on patients with dual diagnosis (10·55; 10·23-10·89 before vs 9·61; 9·18-10·05 after, p=0·0007) and multidisciplinary review after suicide (11·59; 11·31-11·88 before vs 10·48; 10·13-10·84 after, p<0·0001) were also associated with falling rates. Services that did not implement recommendations had little reduction in suicide. The biggest falls in suicide seemed to be in services with the most deprived catchment areas (incidence rate ratio 0·90; 95% CI 0·88-0·92) and the most patients (0·86; 0·84-0·88). INTERPRETATION Our findings suggest that aspects of provision of mental health services can affect suicide rates in clinical populations. Investigation of the relation between new initiatives and suicide could help to inform future suicide prevention efforts and improve safety for patients receiving mental health care. FUNDING National Patient Safety Agency, UK.

Mental disorder and clinical care in people convicted of homicide: national clinical survey

Abstract Objectives: To estimate the rate of mental disorder in those convicted of homicide and to examine the social and clinical characteristics of those with a history of contact with psychiatric services. Design: National clinical survey. Setting: England and Wales. Subjects: Eighteen month sample of people convicted of homicide. Main outcome measures: Offence related and clinical information collected from psychiatric court reports on people convicted of homicide. Detailed clinical data collected on those with a history of contact with psychiatric services. Results: 718 homicides were reported to the inquiry between April 1996 and November 1997. Of the 500 cases for whom psychiatric reports were retrieved, 220 (44%; 95% confidence interval 40% to 48%) had a lifetime history of mental disorder, while 71 (14%; 11% to 17%) had symptoms of mental illness at the time of the homicide. Of the total sample, 102 (14%; 12% to 17%) were confirmed to have been in contact with mental health services at some time, 58 (8%; 6% to 10%) in the year before the homicide. The commonest diagnosis was personality disorder (20 cases, 22%; 13% to 30%). Alcohol and drug misuse were also common. Only 15 subjects (18%; 10% to 26%) were receiving intensive community care, and 60 (63%; 53% to 73%) were out of contact at the time of the homicide. Conclusions: There are substantial rates of mental disorder in people convicted of homicide. Most do not have severe mental illness or a history of contact with mental health services. Inquiry findings suggest that preventing loss of contact with services and improving the clinical management of patients with both mental illness and substance misuse may reduce risk, but clinical trials are needed to examine the effectiveness of such interventions.

Suicide in schizophrenia: findings from a national clinical survey.

Background. A reduction in suicide among individuals with mental illness is an international public-health priority. Approximately 10% of patients with schizophrenia will die by suicide. Objective. The goal of this study was to describe social and clinical characteristics of people with schizophrenia who completed suicide, including aspects of the clinical care they received. Method. A national clinical survey was conducted based on a 4-year (1996-2000) sample of people in England and Wales who had died by suicide and had been in contact with mental health services in the previous 12 months. Results. Of 20,927 individuals who committed suicide, 5,099 (24%) were known to have been in contact with mental health services in the year prior to death. Completed questionnaires were returned on 4,859 cases of suicide. Of these, 960 (20%) were diagnosed with schizophrenia. These suicides were characterized by more violent modes of death, with over a quarter (27%) jumping from a height or in front of a moving vehicle compared to 10% of the remaining sample. They were more likely than the other individuals in the sample to be young, male, unmarried, and from an ethnic minority with high rates of unemployment. Rates of previous violence and drug abuse were high and they were proportionally more likely to be inpatients at the time of death and to have been noncompliant with medication. Patients with schizophrenia and comorbid substance abuse showed particularly complex social and clinical morbidity. Conclusions. Measures that may prevent suicide among patients with schizophrenia include improved ward safety, closer supervision in both inpatient and community settings, particularly for those with poor medication compliance, and effective treatment of substance abuse.

Suicide Within Two Weeks of Discharge From Psychiatric Inpatient Care: A Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVE Suicide risk after discharge from psychiatric inpatient care is high, particularly in the first few weeks. The aim of the study was to identify risk factors and protective factors (that is, factors associated with a reduced risk of suicide), including variation in health care received, for suicide among patients in the two-week postdischarge period. METHODS This was a national population-based retrospective case-control study of 100 psychiatric patients in England (2004-2006), age 18-65, who died by suicide within two weeks of hospital discharge. These patients were matched on discharge date with 100 living control group patients. RESULTS Fifty-five percent of suicides occurred within a week of discharge, 49% of whom died before their first follow-up appointment. Conditional logistic regression analyses indicated that recent adverse life events and a short (less than one week) final admission were independently associated with postdischarge suicide, as were older age and comorbid psychiatric disorders. Receiving enhanced aftercare (under the Care Programme Approach) was protective of suicide. CONCLUSIONS Discharged patients viewed as being at high risk of suicide require immediate community follow-up. Mental health services should be mindful of discharging patients after a short admission. The potential role of detrimental life experiences indicates that mental health clinicians need to be aware of the circumstances into which patients are being discharged. Use of enhanced levels of care, such as that offered by the Care Programme Approach, may play a strong role in preventing suicide within two weeks of discharge.

Suicide in dementia: 9-year national clinical survey in England and Wales

BACKGROUND Knowledge of suicide in people with dementia is limited to small case series. AIMS To describe behavioural, clinical and care characteristics of people with dementia who died by suicide. METHOD All dementia cases (n=118) from a 9-year national clinical survey of suicides in England and Wales (n=11 512) were compared with age- and gender-matched non-dementia cases (control group) (n=492) by conditional logistic regression. RESULTS The most common method of suicide in patients with dementia was self-poisoning, followed by drowning and hanging, the latter being less frequent than in controls. In contrast to controls, significantly fewer suicides occurred within 1 year of diagnosis in patients with dementia. Patients with dementia were also less likely to have a history of self-harm, psychiatric symptoms and previous psychiatric admissions. CONCLUSIONS Known indicators of suicide risk are found less frequently in dementia suicide cases than non-dementia suicide cases. Further research should clarify whether suicide in dementia is a response to worsening dementia or an underappreciation of psychiatric symptoms by clinicians.

Suicide in psychiatric in-patients in England, 1997 to 2003

BACKGROUND Psychiatric in-patients are at particularly high risk of suicide but few studies have investigated trends in in-patient suicide over time. METHOD We conducted a prospective study of all patients admitted to National Health Service (NHS) in-patient psychiatric care in England (1997-2003). The study was carried out as part of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide. The main outcome measure was death by suicide. Suicide rates were determined using Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) as the denominator. RESULTS Between the first 2 years of the study (1997 and 1998) and the last 2 years of the study (2002 and 2003) the annual number of in-patient deaths from suicide fell from 187 to 156 (a 17% reduction). The rate of in-patient suicide fell by between 9% and 28% depending on which denominator was used. This fall was observed for both males and females, and was most marked for those aged 15-44 years. Reductions were also observed for the three most common methods of death (hanging, jumping, poisoning), but the trend for hanging did not reach statistical significance. Although the number of post-discharge suicides fell, the risk of post-discharge suicide (using admissions as a denominator) may have increased by as much as 10% during the study period. CONCLUSION The rate of suicide among psychiatric in-patients appears to have fallen. The fall may reflect falling general population rates, changes in in-patient case mix, service improvements, or a transfer of risk to the post-discharge period. Services need to be aware of the importance of providing high quality aftercare following discharge from hospital.

Suicide in recently admitted psychiatric in-patients: a case-control study

BACKGROUND Around a quarter of in-patient suicides occur within the first week of admission to psychiatric in-patient care. Little is known on the factors associated with suicide during this critical time. We aimed to identify risk factors for suicide among in-patients within the first week of admission. METHODS A national population-based case-control study of 107 current psychiatric in-patients in England who died by suicide within a week of admission, matched on admission date with 107 living controls. RESULTS Forty-two (40%) suicide cases died within the first 3 day of admission. A fifth of all suicides were on authorised leave at the time of death, but 34% were off the ward without staff agreement compared to only 1% of controls. Independent risk factors for suicide included previous self-harm, recent adverse life events, and a short (<12 months) duration of illness. LIMITATIONS This is a retrospective study, using clinical data mainly collected from case records. Clinicians were not blind to case/control status. CONCLUSIONS The first few days of admission should be recognised as the period of highest risk. Careful risk evaluation is needed at this time, particularly in those with recent illness onset or previous suicide attempts. Knowledge of life events experienced before admission should be incorporated into risk assessments. Improvements to the ward environment to lessen the distress of an admission may be an important preventative measure. Protocols may require adapting to improve the safety of those on agreed leave, and prevent absconding through increased vigilance and closer observation of ward exits.

Suicide in the homeless within 12 months of contact with mental health services : A national clinical survey in the UK

BackgroundSuicide prevention is a health service priority. Homeless mental health patients present a challenge to services because of their complex health and social needs.AimsTo establish the numbers of homeless patients in contact with services who die by suicide; to describe their suicide methods and their social and clinical characteristics including aspects of clinical care.MethodA national clinical survey based on a 4-year (1996–2000) sample of people in England and Wales who died by suicide. Detailed data were collected on those who had been in contact with mental health services in the year before death.ResultsA total of 131 individuals who died by suicide were reported to have been homeless at the time of death—3% of all suicides by psychiatric patients, over 30 per year. Hanging was the most common cause of death. The most frequent diagnosis was schizophrenia. Around half were in-patients at the time of death. Social and clinical risk factors for suicide were common, including drug and alcohol misuse, and recent suicidal ideas and behaviour. Despite this, their clinical care was characterised by disengagement from services as a result of missed contacts, self-discharge, lack of follow-up and lack of key worker.ConclusionsIn order to reduce the number of deaths by suicide in those who are homeless and mentally ill, improvements in in-patient safety and engagement in the community are needed. This may be achieved through assertive community treatment, dual diagnosis services, and dedicated community mental health teams.

Suicide in later life: A comparison between cases with early-onset and late-onset depression☆

BACKGROUND Suicide rates are high in elderly people with depressive disorder. We compared behavioural, clinical and care characteristics of depressed elderly patients, aged 60years and over at the time of death by suicide, with an early-onset depression (EOD, onset before 60years) with those patients with a late age of onset (LOD). METHOD From a 10-year national clinical survey of all suicides in England and Wales (n=13066) we identified 549 LOD cases, and 290 EOD cases. EOD and LOD cases were compared by logistic regression adjusted for age at suicide. RESULTS Method of suicide did not differ by age of onset of depression. LOD cases were significantly less likely to have a history of psychiatric admissions (OR=0.2 [0.1-0.3]), alcohol misuse (OR=0.6 [0.4-0.9]) and self-harm (0.6 [0.4-0.8]). LOD cases also had a lower prevalence of a psychiatric co-morbid diagnosis (0.6 [0.4-0.7]) and a lower prescription rate for psychotropic drugs other than antidepressants. Furthermore, the number of recent life-events was significantly higher (OR=1.4 [1.0-1.9]) in LOD while the frequency of recent self-harm was similar to EOD. CONCLUSION Although our study suggests that psychopathology of suicide among elderly depressed patients differs between EOD and LOD, the final pathway (via recent self-harm) to suicide may be similar in up to a quarter of patients in both groups. Our results suggest that strategies to enhance coping abilities and provision of support to negate the effects of life-events might be especially important in the prevention of suicide in LOD.