Wyder M, Ray MK, Roennfeldt H, et al. Int J Qual Health Care. 2020;32:285-291.
This systematic review examined common systems factors affecting suicide deaths in mental health care. Seven themes contributing to suicide deaths were identified: (1) inappropriate or incomplete risk assessment; (2) lack of family involvement; (3) inadequate transitions and communication between different care teams; (4) lack of adherence to policies and procedures; (5) treatment not in line with current guidelines; (6) access to means and observation and; (7) lack of specialist services within the community.
System weaknesses are often at the root of never events. This news story discusses the suicide of a concussed woman whose care failed due to gaps in team communication, discharge and transition practices.
A code blue is called on an elderly man with a history of coronary artery disease, hypertension, and schizophrenia hospitalized on the inpatient psychiatry service. Housestaff covering the code team did not know where the service was located, and when the team arrived, they found their equipment to be incompatible with the leads on the patient.
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