About to speak @rcpsychLiaison #LiaisonConf about my experiences of receiving and not receiving help in the emergency department after self harm. First time giving a talk to psychiatrists.. @rcpsych

Inspiring to be sharing a platform with @AlexBThomson and @AlysColeKing talking about care for people who self harm. If you haven’t heard Alys speak about this before, you should. Thank you to Alex for chairing and setting the tone.

Some people asked me what I was going to say in my talk. I’ll tweet some of it here.

1. Psychiatrists often say that all behaviour is communication. If that’s true then responses to self harm are communicative too.

#LiaisonConf @rcpsychLiaison

#LiaisonConf

The NICE guidance for the short term management of self harm is 15 years old this year yet 50% of people who have self harmed still don’t receive a psychosocial assessment when they attend the emergency department, the guidance says they should. #LiaisonConf @rcpsychLiaison

2. Anticipatory care planning for people labelled as frequent attenders who self harm isn’t a neutral act. Frequent attender care plans can have unintended consequences. #LiaisonConf @rcpsychLiaison

#LiaisonConf

3. Self harm deserves our attention. Too often people who self harm are not receiving dignified care and expert help. #LiaisonConf

If we are serious about suicide prevention we have to be serious about helping people who self harm and attend the emergency department. People who attend more than once have elevated risk. It’s not just about risk though - it’s about people’s lives too. #LiaisonConf

These are all things that have been said to me in emergency departments. Stigma affects access to healthcare. People responding with skilled help and expertise can change this. The time for healthcare based stigma towards people who self harm needs to be in the past. #LiaisonConf

4. Skilled care and help can make a difference for people who self harm. People who self harm deserve high quality help and care. #LiaisonConf

We need to consider contemporary risks blocking help for people who self harm. Misuse of security guards to provide ‘care’, unlawful searches,!and unlawful detention. Also assumptions around self harm and lack of access to specialist help. #LiaisonConf

5. Liaison psychiatry can help. But it needs to be more than a binary yes-no admission assessment. Patients who have waited many hours and are only seen at discharge for a decision on whether they’ll be admitted to a mental health ward aren’t receiving best care. #LiaisonConf

#LiaisonConf