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One hundred in-patient suicides

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 January 2018

France Proulx ,
Alain D. Lesage  and
Frédéric Grunberg
France Proulx*
Affiliation:
Hôpital Charles LeMoyne, Department of Psychiatry, University of Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Alain D. Lesage
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche Fernand-Seguin Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Frédéric Grunberg
Affiliation:
Centre de Recherche Fernand-Seguin Hôpital Louis-H. Lafontaine, Department of Psychiatry, University of Montreal, Quebec, Canada
*
Dr France Proulx, Hôpital Charles LeMoyne, Department of Psychiatry, 3120 Taschereau Blvd, Greenfield Park, Quebec, Canada J4V 2HI
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Abstract

Background

The study aimed to define the characteristics and assess the clinical predictability and possible prevention of psychiatric in-patient suicides.

Method

The coroner's files on all suicides in the Greater Montreal Region from 1 April 1986 to 31 March 1991 were examined. The medical records of each case of suspected in-patient suicide were then reviewed and rated for predictability and preventive measures taken.

Results

A total of 3079 suicides were recorded over this five-year period (mean annual rate of 16.4 per 100 000 inhabitants). Of these, 104 (3.4%) involved hospital in-patients. Nearly half (48%) of these in-patient suicides occurred outside the hospital setting. The methods most frequently employed were hanging (36%) and jumping from high places (24%). Patients suffering from an affective disorder (45%) or schizophrenia (35%) comprised the majority of the sample. Suicides were significantly more predictable in general hospital psychiatric wards. Suicide prevention measures did not differ significantly across settings.

Conclusions

The majority of in-patient suicides were not highly predictable. For highly predictable suicides, the results underline the importance of actively treating and protecting these patients.

Type
Papers
Information
The British Journal of Psychiatry , Volume 171 , Issue 3 , September 1997 , pp. 247 - 250
Copyright
Copyright © 1997 The Royal College of Psychiatrists 

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