With suicide attempts, people are usually admitted, whether it's to treat whatever the attempt was, or the mental illness behind it. (I'm from Canada.) In Ontario we have a form 1, which is an involuntary commitment for 72 hours, which can be extended. In New York (cause I'm doing research for a story) they have a code 9.39 which is also involuntary, and can hold a person for up to 15 days, and again, can be extended. Although a lot of hospitals now in New York City have extended observation beds, which are more like the 72 hours hold sort of thing, to just get a person stabilized. Involuntary commitment varies from state to state, although the best known one is probably California, with the 5150.
On another note, when it comes to admission for suicidal thoughts, my sister wasn't admitted the first time she went to the ER because she was only a little bit suicidal, apparently. The second time she went, she was admitted. Apparently repetition means you're serious. idk. She hadn't attempted anything, but really, it shouldn't have to get to that point. (Of note, this was a hospital with a special psych emerg, so they were more prepped to deal with that sort of thing. But like the above anons said, it's really subjective.)
These are generally based on whether the doctor/healthcare worker thinks the person is a danger to themselves or others. So that can mean a lot of things, but a suicide attempt is a pretty clear sign of wanting to harm yourself. And if you are depressed/possibly suicidal, they usually ask three questions: Are you thinking about hurting/killing yourself? Do you have a plan? Do you have the means to carry out the plan? If all those three things are yes, then admission is a very good idea. (The plan part is pretty important, because a lot of people think about hurting themselves, myself included, but never really plan out how they're going to do it. If they have the means to do it, it makes it more likely that they will/will succeed.)
Re: Ok, I'm just being a chatty bitch here-
(Anonymous) 2015-07-10 11:46 pm (UTC)(link)(I'm from Canada.)
In Ontario we have a form 1, which is an involuntary commitment for 72 hours, which can be extended. In New York (cause I'm doing research for a story) they have a code 9.39 which is also involuntary, and can hold a person for up to 15 days, and again, can be extended. Although a lot of hospitals now in New York City have extended observation beds, which are more like the 72 hours hold sort of thing, to just get a person stabilized.
Involuntary commitment varies from state to state, although the best known one is probably California, with the 5150.
On another note, when it comes to admission for suicidal thoughts, my sister wasn't admitted the first time she went to the ER because she was only a little bit suicidal, apparently. The second time she went, she was admitted. Apparently repetition means you're serious. idk. She hadn't attempted anything, but really, it shouldn't have to get to that point. (Of note, this was a hospital with a special psych emerg, so they were more prepped to deal with that sort of thing. But like the above anons said, it's really subjective.)
Re: Ok, I'm just being a chatty bitch here-
(Anonymous) 2015-07-10 11:49 pm (UTC)(link)These are generally based on whether the doctor/healthcare worker thinks the person is a danger to themselves or others. So that can mean a lot of things, but a suicide attempt is a pretty clear sign of wanting to harm yourself. And if you are depressed/possibly suicidal, they usually ask three questions: Are you thinking about hurting/killing yourself? Do you have a plan? Do you have the means to carry out the plan?
If all those three things are yes, then admission is a very good idea. (The plan part is pretty important, because a lot of people think about hurting themselves, myself included, but never really plan out how they're going to do it. If they have the means to do it, it makes it more likely that they will/will succeed.)