Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing

Risk assessment and management is a core element of mental health practice, and all nurses need to be aware of the risks surrounding them and their patients in order to create a safe working environment.  This timely and accessible text explores how nurses can enhance their skills, and improve their practice so that risk is assessed and managed safely and effectively. Risk Assessment and Management in Mental Health Nursing explores issues including context and definitions of risk, risk assessment tools and techniques, strategies for preventing risk situations, suicide, self-harm, neglect, forensic aspects of risk, substance misuse, ethical considerations, , victimology, risk to others and risk to self. Special Features: Written in the context of latest policy developments such as the National Service Frameworks Discusses the role of the mental health nurse in the assessment and management of risk Explores an increasingly important and timely subject in mental health practice Practical  focus, with case studies throughout Written by experts in the field

Foreword v Contributors vii 1 Introduction 1 Phil Woods and Alyson M. Kettles 2 Risk Assessment and Management 9 John Cordall 3 The Theory of Risk 49 Alyson M. Kettles and Phil Woods 4 Instrumentation 77 Phil Woods and Alyson M. Kettles 5 Risk to Others 109 Phil Woods 6 Risk to Self 143 B. Lee Murray and Eve Upshall 7 Risk of Substance Misuse 199 Lois Dugmore 8 Conclusions 243 Alyson M. Kettles and Phil Woods Index 253