People with significant mental health challenges may require inpatient care at psychiatric facilities. Some people ask for inpatient care because they recognize their own struggles. Others end up subject to an involuntary mental health hold because of their symptoms.
Frequently, the goal at inpatient mental health facilities is to help people overcome their immediate challenges and secure the skills they need to manage their symptoms outside the facility. However, the transition can be a dangerous time. Hospitals that do not provide appropriate transition support may negligently endanger residents by leaving them alone during a vulnerable time.
Suicide risk surges when treatment ends
Researchers have found that those who receive inpatient care are at noticeably increased risk of suicide immediately after they exit the facility. In a large percentage of cases, residents who have exited inpatient care and their lives before they ever have a follow-up appointment.
Outpatient support simply isn’t enough for those at elevated risk of self-harm. Facilities can help limit that risk by screening residents for suicidal ideation and providing more immediate and intensive support during the transition at the end of inpatient care.
Halfway houses and in-person meetings with social workers and other support providers can help with the adjustment period when patients are at the highest level of risk. Unfortunately, facilities frequently cut corners even in cases where the need for care is obvious to anyone familiar with risk factors for inpatient mental health patients.
Establishing that inadequate support provided by a mental health facility was negligent could provide the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Grieving families can prompt organizational changes by taking legal action when the termination of impatient care results in tragic consequences.