Post by Amy on Mar 6, 2006 12:57:42 GMT
Just wanted your opinions on this article. I do not agree with what they are planning to do myself, I think it is too dangerous and I do not think it will work as mostly all self harmers SI in private.
Patients who want to harm themselves could be given clean blades and advice on where to cut, under plans drawn up by nurses' leaders.
The move is aimed at minimising the risk of infection from cuts made with dirty implements, just as drug addicts are issued with sterile needles.
Senior nurses working with mental health patients have drawn up the proposals for "safe self-harm" to be debated in April by the Royal College of Nursing.
However, the controversial plans will be resisted by those who argue that the duty of health-care professionals is to prevent harm, not to help cause it.
Every year, 170,000 people are treated in hospital for deliberately self-inflicted injuries. Many wound themselves repeatedly as they struggle to cope with depression and other mental conditions. Under the present regime, nurses treating self-harming patients are expected to confiscate razor blades, knives or broken glass to try to prevent further injuries.
If the nurses' proposals are adopted, patients could be taken to a safe place where they would be watched and given advice while they cut themselves. The move will be proposed at the RCN Congress by the organisation's mental-health nursing forum.
Ian Hulatt, mental health adviser for the RCN, said: "There is a clear comparison with giving clean needles to reduce HIV. We will be debating introducing a similar harm-reduction approach.
"This may well include the provision of clean dressing packs and it may mean providing clean sharps.
"Nurses who encounter individuals who self-harm on a regular basis face a dilemma. Do they go for prohibition - or do we allow this to occur in a way that minimises harm?"
Mr Hulatt was backed by Jeremy Bore, vice-chairman of the RCN's prison forum, who said: "We should give patients clean blades and a clean environment to self-harm, and then access to good-quality dressings.
"My instinct is that it is better to sit with the patient and talk to them while they are self-harming. We should definitely give advice on safer parts of the body to cut.
"It could get to the state where we could have a discussion with the patient about how deep the cuts were going to be, and how many."
The Patients Association criticised the proposal. Katherine Murphy, the organisation's director of communications, said: "Supplying individuals who self-harm with blades cannot be good for them. By giving self-harmers the tools they need, the nurses could be seen as encouraging individuals to harm themselves."
Research has found that self-harm is most common among girls aged 15 to 19, but rates are also rising among men in their early twenties.
The ChildLine help service takes more than 4,000 calls a year about self-harm - many from children trying to cope with physical or sexual abuse, bullying or family breakdown.
05/02/2006
A centre to talk about things would be good, and giving out bandages and being taught how to keep wounds clean and infection free, but giving out razors? That is a bad idea in my opinion
Patients who want to harm themselves could be given clean blades and advice on where to cut, under plans drawn up by nurses' leaders.
The move is aimed at minimising the risk of infection from cuts made with dirty implements, just as drug addicts are issued with sterile needles.
Senior nurses working with mental health patients have drawn up the proposals for "safe self-harm" to be debated in April by the Royal College of Nursing.
However, the controversial plans will be resisted by those who argue that the duty of health-care professionals is to prevent harm, not to help cause it.
Every year, 170,000 people are treated in hospital for deliberately self-inflicted injuries. Many wound themselves repeatedly as they struggle to cope with depression and other mental conditions. Under the present regime, nurses treating self-harming patients are expected to confiscate razor blades, knives or broken glass to try to prevent further injuries.
If the nurses' proposals are adopted, patients could be taken to a safe place where they would be watched and given advice while they cut themselves. The move will be proposed at the RCN Congress by the organisation's mental-health nursing forum.
Ian Hulatt, mental health adviser for the RCN, said: "There is a clear comparison with giving clean needles to reduce HIV. We will be debating introducing a similar harm-reduction approach.
"This may well include the provision of clean dressing packs and it may mean providing clean sharps.
"Nurses who encounter individuals who self-harm on a regular basis face a dilemma. Do they go for prohibition - or do we allow this to occur in a way that minimises harm?"
Mr Hulatt was backed by Jeremy Bore, vice-chairman of the RCN's prison forum, who said: "We should give patients clean blades and a clean environment to self-harm, and then access to good-quality dressings.
"My instinct is that it is better to sit with the patient and talk to them while they are self-harming. We should definitely give advice on safer parts of the body to cut.
"It could get to the state where we could have a discussion with the patient about how deep the cuts were going to be, and how many."
The Patients Association criticised the proposal. Katherine Murphy, the organisation's director of communications, said: "Supplying individuals who self-harm with blades cannot be good for them. By giving self-harmers the tools they need, the nurses could be seen as encouraging individuals to harm themselves."
Research has found that self-harm is most common among girls aged 15 to 19, but rates are also rising among men in their early twenties.
The ChildLine help service takes more than 4,000 calls a year about self-harm - many from children trying to cope with physical or sexual abuse, bullying or family breakdown.
05/02/2006
A centre to talk about things would be good, and giving out bandages and being taught how to keep wounds clean and infection free, but giving out razors? That is a bad idea in my opinion
