Support for improving community-based care for self-harm

The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) is working alongside experts from the Manchester Self-Harm Project and the Patient Safety Translational Research Centre to support NHS Integrated Care Systems across England to improve community-based services and care for people who self-harm.

This is part of a national programme of transformation funded by NHS England and NHS Improvement linked to establishing new and integrated models of primary and community mental health care across England. These new models will provide improved care for adults and older adults who self-harm in the community, as laid out in the NHS Long Term Plan.

This work is commissioned by the Healthcare Quality Improvement Partnership (HQIP), with funding from NHS England and NHS Improvement.

We will support teams in participating areas by:

• providing broad expert knowledge of current self-harm data and research;
• providing guidance on national guidelines and recommendations for the care of people who self-harm;
• advising on methods of data collection to monitor and evaluate the impact of service changes for people who self-harm;
• developing an online resource to gather useful information in an easily accessible format.

Infographics

As part of this work we co-created infographics that reflect the main themes of the community self-harm and CQUIN (psychosocial assessments) interventions developed during the project. These infographics are intended to promote and share learning; they summarise the projects’ aims, project details, and outcome measures.

Data Dictionary

We have developed a data dictionary (PDF) providing a selection of process measures that can be used to help assess change as areas implement new strategies for supporting people who self-harm.

Accessible text versions of infographics

View text versions of the above infographics in PDF format:

• North-West London – Training programme
• Frimley Health and Care Integrated Care System – Brief psychological intervention
• Somerset STP – Digital resources
• Tower Hamlets MHLT – Follow-up after attending the emergency department for self-harm
• NSHEI programme – Improving community-based services for self-harm programme (2020-2023)
• SABP self-harm CQUIN – Improving biopsychosocial assessments after self-harm
• Sunderland PLT – Follow-up after attending the emergency department for self-harm
• Support for improving community-based care for self-harm

Resources: evidence and guidance around self-harm

The following sections contain links to information on different aspects of care for people who self-harm, such as national clinical guidelines, peer-reviewed journal publications, and commissioned reports.