Table 2 Behavioral recommendations in dealing with a suicidal patient
From: Development of a pre-hospital emergencies protocol for the management of suicidal patients in Iran
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• Introduce yourself, explain your role and the help that you can provide • Talk in a calm and confident tone • Invite the patient to talk about his/her problem • Pay attention to patient’s cultural and religious conditions (such as the need for covering, maintaining a minimum distance with patient, not touching an opposite sex patient if Muslim) • Reduce external stimuli and existing noise as much as possible • Ask the police to stay out of patient’s sight (if the presence of police makes patient irritable and restless) • Do not leave patient alone • Do not make false promises to calm patient • Take any threat of suicide attempt seriously • Encourage patient to provide information of relatives who can help |