Crisis telephone consultation for deliberate self-harm patients: How the study groups used the telephone and usual health-care services

Abstract

Eight hundred and twenty-seven deliberate self-harm (DSH) patients admitted to medical wards were randomly allocated to either control or intervention (Green Card) groups. In addition to treatment as usual the intervention group was offered crisis telephone support. Analyses are presented on the way the telephone help-line was used as well as both groups‘ utilisation of primary and secondary healthcare services. Only a minority (17%) of subjects given a Green Card actually used it and most calls (85%) lasted 30 minutes or less. Subjects with no previous history of DSH were less likely to make calls than were those with a previous history. Intervention group subjects were offered fewer psychiatric out-patient appointments and fewer non-psychiatric in-patient admissions than controls. An urgent telephone consultation service for DSH patients is feasible to run and may result in a reduced requirement for other health-care services. On present evidence such a service should be confined to patients with no previous history of DSH.