Emergency hospital admissions for intentional self-harm
Self-harm is defined as any act of self-poisoning or self-injury carried out by a person, irrespective of their motivation. We aim to identify the extent of self-harm within our community and provide targeted services to those needing support to reduce rates of self harm.
March 2021 performance
There are a number of actions that have take place to reduce
the incidence of self-harm emergency admissions. These include:
- Recruitment
of a dedicated post - Schools
and Colleges Programme Manager – Self Harm
- The postholder has developed a number of
resources and ensures that self-harm prevention and improved response is
at the core of WSCC children and young people’s mental health and
wellbeing offer. Details here: Self-harm
- WSCC Public Health have just led on procuring a SHCP
funded Pan-Sussex self-harm learning network which will be delivered by
YMCA Downslink and West Sussex Mind over the 21/22 school year. Each local
authority will have learning networks for staff working in primary age
educational settings, staff working in secondary age educational settings,
and for parents, families and carers. It aims to increase knowledge and
skills amongst different stakeholder groups and for learning to take place
both within and across local authority areas.
As the indicator only measures activity at the upper end of the pathway it is difficult to assess the effect of preventative interventions which may impact downstream.
In West Sussex a comprehensive set of interventions are commissioned by the council and NHS partners across the pathway, from prevention, through to early intervention and then on to more specialist clinical services. However, evidence suggests that many population level approaches do not specifically relate to self-harm but are around promoting positive mental and emotional wellbeing.
The multi-agency Suicide Prevention Steering Group membership are working together to take forward nine areas for action within the strategy, to develop and maintain the Action Plan, and disseminate and implement any relevant evidence based national guidance, such as NICE or Public Health England (PHE) guidance.