At times as a resident doctor, you will be faced with the management of patients displaying aggression. There are many causes for aggressive behaviour, from pain to frustration at delays in medical care, and it should be thought of as a way of expressing distress. It is therefore important to try to understand the cause
What is the MHA? It is legislation that governs patients’ Compulsory detention Treatment Discharge Aftercare It can be used to hospitalise patients that have a mental illness which: Requires assessment or treatment and Poses a threat to the self or others and Results in the patient not being able to consent There are various Sections
Frequently patients wish to self-discharge from hospitals. This article pertains to adult patients only (18y+) and these patients can be broadly split into three groups: Reminder on Capacity Do read the GMC guidance on capacity, which reminds us that patients have presumed capacity. Thus patients need to have a ‘disease of mind or brain’ before
Paracetamol overdose is a common presentation in A&E and so you may often find yourself looking after them. The information below is to help give you an overview. This article (like all other content on this site) is only for medical professionals. For management, use Toxbase, the login should be on your trust intranet or
Acute confusion, otherwise known as delirium, is very common in hospitals: 20-30% on medical wards, and between 10-50% of those that have surgery develop delirium. Types of Delirium Hyperactive – agitated, delusions, hallucinations, aggression Hypoactive – harder to spot – lethargy, psychomotor retardation, excessive sleeping, inattention – often misdiagnosed as depression Mixed Predisposing factors Previous
The most common place you will see a patient who has self-harmed is in ED, where they have been referred to the psychiatry team but need to be medically cleared. Rarely this could occur on the ward but the format is still vastly the same. Here are some tips on how to manage this. History
