Ethical And Medic Legal Issues - 2685 Words

In writing this essay I have introduced a 25 year old female named Jane. Jane is well known to this hospital as she has had six previous admissions and had recently spent four weeks in the inpatient unit prior to being discharged after setting fire to a bed. All of her previous admissions have been in the context of either threats of self harm or actual overdoses. Jane receives ongoing mental health treatment from her GP. At tonight’s presentation, Jane is mildly intoxicated with alcohol and states that she is very depressed and is describing fantasies of stabbing her ex boyfriend at his home and then jumping off a nearby railway bridge. I have referred to the relevant literature in relation to risk assessment and relevant tools†¦show more content†¦Risk assessments are similar to other mental health assessments as they also need to be structured, systematic and thorough. Most service organisations prescribe a format for clinical risk assessment, or employ formal risk assessment tools. It is a good principle to share the responsibility for risk assessment with the clinical team wherever possible, rather than relying on an individual’s judgment. It is important to assess risk continuously over time as it can change constantly. Importantly, the quality of the risk assessment is dependent on the quality of the information at hand. Sometimes the client’s situation requires urgent actions, and a complete assessment is not possible (Bland et al, 2009 p. 144). A thorough risk assessment requires a consideration of both risk and protective factors. Bland, Renouf, Tullgren (2009) state that when good clinical assessment instruments are available, they should be used, combined with ‘actuarial’ knowledge about the factors associated with particular risks. However, the majority of risks are difficult to predict accurately, and importantly, approaches will always need to be combined with a professional (clinical) judgement based on the unique circumstances of each situation ( Bland, Renouf, Tullgren, 2009 p. 144). When undertaking a risk assessment in relation to