Case study

Supporting Joe’s recovery through structured intervention and support

When Joe, a 27 year-old painter, was admitted to hospital, he had already received a diagnosis of personality disorder on a previous admission. He was offered STORM (Skill Training on Risk Management) suicide prevention assessment. His care, treatment and safety plan included specific nursing interventions around distress tolerance and coping strategy development, which were related to his thoughts of self-harm and the potential risk of his leaving the ward to follow these thoughts through.

One-to-one sessions were introduced to deliver interventions, initially twice during each nursing shift, and Joe was also supported to attend a social group activity that interested him. His progress and presentation were discussed during the safety huddles each shift but it was noticed that after several days, Joe started to self-isolate although he would still engage briefly in his one-to-one interventions.

Following discussions between Joe and his multidisciplinary team, it was agreed that he would receive additional and structured support during each nursing shift, with a healthcare support worker helping him to organise his day.

For more information, please refer to our From Observation to Intervention (PDF) guidance document.