Stay hydrated for healthier living Nurses staffed information stands in hospital receptions in Worcestershire last week to spread the message about the dangers of dehydration. The Stay Hydrated, Stay Healthy campaign is promoting the benefits of hydration and reminding people that a good fluid intake can help prevent unnecessary hospital admissions. For details of the campaign, which is being run jointly by Worcestershire’s CCGs, NHS trusts and the county council, go to tinyurl.com/mzmng5w.

NEIL O’CONNOR

NEWS

Catherine Whitehouse (left) and Josie McHale-Owen publicise the campaign

Mental health support needed to prevent suicides after discharge By Katie Osborne All nurses must find the courage to discuss suicide with vulnerable patients in a bid to reduce the number of mental health patients who kill themselves shortly after discharge from hospital, according to the RCN. The call comes in response to a newly published report by the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness, which reveals that patients with mental health issues are at their highest risk of dying by suicide in the first two weeks after leaving hospital. More than 3,200 patients in the UK killed themselves within the first three months after discharge from hospital between 2002 and 2012. Of these, 526 died within the first week. The RCN’s mental health adviser Ian Hulatt said: ‘These are very important findings which show how crucial it is to have community-based services ready to care for mental health patients after they leave hospital. Suicide prevention strategies must clearly put more focus on improving post-discharge support.

‘Nurses who encounter a patient with suicidal thoughts must be prepared to have a conversation around the issue and if there are serious concerns, urgent action should be taken. It is difficult, but essential.’ The National Confidential Inquiry Report shows that between 2002 and

‘NURSES MUST BE PREPARED TO HAVE A CONVERSATION ON SUICIDAL THOUGHTS’ 2012, 13,723 deaths by suicide were identified among people who had been in contact with mental health services during the previous 12 months. These accounted for 28 per cent of suicides among the general population. Suicide by patients receiving care under crisis resolution or home treatment teams is now substantially more common than by those under inpatient care. Inquiry director Louis Appleby, who led the study, said: ‘Our recommendations are that careful and effective care planning is needed

for patients before they are discharged and for those who self-discharge. ‘Early follow-up appointments need to be strengthened, and reducing the length of inpatient stays to ease pressure on beds should not be an aim in itself. Instead, health professionals need to ensure the adverse events that preceded the admission have been addressed.’ Professor Appleby said that any suicides within three days of hospital discharge should be classed as NHS ‘never events’. Mr Hulatt agreed that community services needed to be strengthened, but said government cuts had made the situation very difficult. ‘The community mental health teams are dealing with acutely unwell people, so the main issue is offering early follow-up appointments and extra vigilance,’ Mr Hulatt said. ‘However, we cannot disconnect this from the huge number of resources that have been stripped out of the health service by the current government, which has severely affected community mental health teams.’

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Stay hydrated for healthier living.

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