Written question asked by Tim Loughton (Conservative) on Wednesday, 3 May 2006, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 8 May 2006. It was answered by Baroness Winterton of Doncaster (Labour) on Tuesday, 9 May 2006 on behalf of the Department of Health.

Self-harm

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance she has issued to hospitals on dealing with patients who self-harm on site.

Answer: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published self-harm Clinical Guidelines for NHS mental health provider trusts in 2004. The NICE guidelines cover the care which patients who harm themselves can expect to receive from healthcare professionals in and outside of hospital settings and what they can expect from their treatment.However, NICE guidelines do not attempt to explain self-harm or describe the treatment for this in detail. This is why the Department and the National Institute for Mental Health in England are re-evaluating current treatment approaches for self-harm, by undertaking an exploratory exercise on the appropriate management of self-harm. This will focus on adult service users, predominantly female, who self-harm as a coping mechanism or survival strategy. The exercise started in January 2006 and will run until autumn. It will ascertain the level of support at both local and regional levels and the evidence base for adopting a harm-reduction approach. It will also judge the appropriateness (with NICE) of developing guidelines and training to facilitate a harm-minimisation approach amongst service providers.

Secondary information