Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-tf8b9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-27T11:44:25.183Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

The health service contacts of 87 suicides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

Josie Evans*
Affiliation:
Department of Public Health Medicine, East Kent Commissioning Agency, Dover CT16 1JY
*
Address for correspondence.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

The Health of the Nation asserts that the suicide rate in England and Wales can be reduced by the provision of better health care services. In a sample of suicides in one district health authority, 61% had had contact with health services during the year prior to death, suggesting that improvements in these services could have an impact on the overall suicide rate. However, the proportion who had had prior contact varied between different age and sex groups and individuals in groups with the higher suicide rates tended to have the least contact. Therefore, the impact of health service improvements on the overall suicide rate may be limited.

Type
Original papers
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 1994

References

Barraclough, B., Bunch, J., Nelson, B. & Sainsbury, P. (1974) A hundred cases of suicide: clinical aspects. British Journal of Psychiatry, 125, 355363.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Department of Health (1992a) The Health of the Nation. A Summary of the Strategy for Health in England. HMSOGoogle Scholar
Department of Health Public Health Common Data Set (1992b).Google Scholar
Kraft, D.P. & Babigian, H.M. (1976) Suicide by persons with and without psychiatric contacts Archives of General Psychiatry, 33, 209215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Vassilas, C.A. & Morgan, H.G. (1993) General practitioners' contact with victims of suicide British Medical Journal, 307, 300301.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Submit a response

eLetters

No eLetters have been published for this article.