Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study

Sandford, D. M., Kirtley, O. J., Thwaites, R. and O'Connor, R. C. (2023) Exploring the impact on primary care mental health practitioners of the death of a patient by suicide: An IPA study. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice, 96(1), pp. 56-82. (doi: 10.1111/papt.12426) (PMID:36117447)

Abstract

Objectives: There have been numerous qualitative studies into the impact of the death of a patient by suicide on clinicians, but the majority of studies have focussed on psychiatrists and psychologists, primarily in inpatient or secondary care settings. To date, little has been done to explore the impact of such deaths on other mental health practitioners working in primary care, such as those working in Improving Access to Psychological Therapies (IAPT) services. Design: This qualitative study used purposive sampling and adopted an interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) methodology. Method: All participants had experienced the death of a patient in their role as a practitioner in an IAPT service. Seven practitioners were recruited from services across the North of England. Semi-structured, one-hour telephone interviews were audio recorded and then transcribed verbatim. Results: Analysis of the transcripts identified a number of themes, which were represented in the majority of cases. Specifically, the analyses yielded four superordinate themes: (1) feeling shocked and upset about the death of a patient; (2) attempting to understand the causes of the suicide; (3) learning from the tragic event; and (4) reflections on what helped in coping with the tragic event. The emotional responses of shock, upset, guilt and fear of blame by IAPT practitioners following the death of a patient through suicide is consistent with that found in studies of other mental health practitioners. Conclusions: It is hoped that the current study will help raise awareness amongst primary care mental health practitioners, services and training centres, of the impact of losing a patient to suicide and will encourage them to consider how best to prepare and support practitioners in this eventuality. Recommendations include raising awareness of the potential for patient suicide in primary care services, providing clarity on the individualised support available and on the requirements of investigations.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: DMS is completing a PhD funded by Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. OJK is supported by a Senior Postdoctoral Fellowship from Research Foundation Flanders (FWO 1257821N).
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Sandford, David and O'Connor, Professor Rory
• Authors: Sandford, D. M., Kirtley, O. J., Thwaites, R., and O'Connor, R. C.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Health & Wellbeing > Mental Health and Wellbeing
• Journal Name: Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 1476-0835
• ISSN (Online): 2044-8341
• Published Online: 19 September 2022
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2022 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice 96(1): 56-82
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License