GPs should have ready access to training and advice about the assessment and management of self-harm patients in primary care. Accessible and comprehensive services need to include a mechanism for engaging people who do not attend routine clinic appointments. Access to follow-up needs to be rapid as repetition can occur soon after the episode. Service providers should work to improve attitudes towards self-harming patients, for example through training aimed at increasing knowledge. There is insufficient evidence to recommend a specific clinical intervention after deliberate self-harm.
Further research is needed to establish the effectiveness of potential interventions.