ENGAGE - Meeting Mental Health Needs of Complex Comorbid Patients

Scotland has higher rates of suicide than other parts of the UK, an average rate of 15.1 per 100,000 in Scotland compared to 11.4 for England and Wales. The Scottish Government is committed to reducing suicide by 2013. Choose Life has led to staff in services such as Accident and Emergency (A\&E) receiving recent training in suicide prevention through ASIST and STORM. Evidence for interventions specific to A\&E setting is limited despite the fact that this is the most likely point of first contact with health services for people at risk of this behaviour. Brief interventions that reduce repetition of self harm have not been particularly effective partly because of poor attendance and lack of focus on comorbidity. We propose to pilot an evaluation of a brief focused intervention, ENGAGE (based on MAnualised Cognitive Therapy,MACT, developed by the investigator (Kate Davidson) and Prof Ulrike Schmidt of the Institute of Psychiatry, London) for those who present at A\&E with a suicide attempt and who have a complex presentation - a combination of substance abuse and or personality disorder, all of which are recognized as high risk factors for suicide. ENGAGE will specifically encourage patients to seek appropriate services to meet their mental health needs. This pilot will allow us to assess the feasibility of a full scale study.