Description
170,000 people present to Emergency Departments
in the UK each year following an act of self-harm1
and this incidence is increasing. Deliberate overdose
currently accounts for ≥10% of all acute medical
admissions.2 The frequency and importance of this
presentation to trainees in Acute Medicine is
emphasised in the curriculum for Acute Internal
Medicine 20093 which states that trainees must be
able to perform a risk assessment following self-harm
and formulate a management plan for care upon
discharge from hospital. This article uses a common
clinical case vignette to address these competencies.
