Half of people seen at English hospitals after self harming do not receive mental health assessment

Nearly half of people presenting to hospitals in England after self harming do not undergo specialist mental health assessment despite it being recommended by national guidelines, shows a large observational study that found an increasing rate of self harm in men over the past few years.1

Researchers analysed data on all people aged 15 and over who had presented after self harm to five general hospital emergency departments in Oxford, Manchester, and Derby in 2012, and they …