Management of suicide attempters: what are the routines and the costs?

The services offered to a consecutive series of 97 suicide attempters (36 men and 61 women) at a general hospital were registered by a participating observer. All but one case were subjected to psychiatric consultation for suicide risk assessment, but only 34% were evaluated by a psychiatric specialist. Fifty-seven percent were admitted to psychiatric inpatient care. The length of inpatient care varied, the average duration was 5 days for men and 14 days for women. Repeaters were admitted more often than nonrepeaters. The short-term compliance was satisfactory. The direct cost for management was evaluated based on the detailed quantification of care provided for each subject. The care at the hospital equalled 6.4% of the total budget for psychiatric inpatient care.