Mental Health Today: A&E support following self harm must not become another Coronavirus casualty

Access to medical care during the Covid-19 crisis remains essential for those of us who have self harmed, writes Rachel Rowan Olive.

Content warning: self harm; negative care responses

Mary called her GP to sort out a physical health problem. She has a history of mental health difficulties, but hasn’t attended A&E after self harming in over ten years. Nevertheless, her GP warned her that “nobody will be able to patch you up if you self harm in the next few weeks.”

"I am trying hard to avoid self harming and stay out of the way of the NHS frontline, but the difficulties that lead to self harm don’t just dissipate."

Read the full article on Mental Health Today here .