Almost 20% of ED attendees for self-harm return within a year

The study was carried out by researchers from the National Suicide Research Foundation.

Almost one-in-five people who attended an emergency department (ED) due to a significant self-harming episode were back in the ED for a similar incident within a year.

New research also highlights the difficulties faced by some people in early adulthood when it comes to risk of self-harm, and that “care should be taken to minimise the availability of drugs to those vulnerable to suicidal behaviour by limiting the quantity of drugs prescribed and dispensed”.