Suicide in Mental Health In-patients and Within 3 Months of Discharge

To describe the social & clinical characteristics of a sample of in-patient & post-discharge cases of suicide a survey based on a 4-year sample of cases of suicide in England & Wales was used. There were 754 current in-patients & a further 1100 had been discharged from psychiatric in-patient care less than 3 months before death. Nearly a quarter of the in-patient deaths occurred within the first 7 days of admission; 236 occurred on the ward. Post-discharge suicide was most frequent in the first 2 weeks after leaving the hospital; the highest number occurred on the first Friday. (15 refs)