Suicide Among Psychiatric In-Patients in a Changing Clinical Scene: Suicidal Ideation as a Paramount Index of Short-Term Risk

Patients who had committed suicide either while receiving inpatient care or within 2 months of discharge from the hospital were compared with a similar series reported 10 years previously. Patients in the more recent study were younger, more often male & a greater proportion had been discharged. It was not possible to distinguish suicides from controls over a range of perceived behaviours. Suicide ideation should be monitored as well as issues which may complicate suicide risk assessment.