Risk Management In Mental Health Services Page 30
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543.3 Tools for Risk Assessment and Management
“The limitations and value of risk assessment
instruments must be understood. Risk assessment
should be seen as an assessment of a current situation,
not itself a predictor of a particular event. Its critical
function is to stratify people into a group (low, medium
or high risk), which will help dictate the appropriate
care and treatment and risk management strategy.”
(Royal College of Psychiatrists Scoping Group on Rethinking Risk
to Others, 2008).
There is a variety of tools available for clinical risk assessment in mental
health services (see Table 3.1). These tests are more fully described in the
UK, Department of Health Document Best Practice in Managing Risk,
(DOH, UK, 2007). The publication also provides a guide for mental health
professionals working with service users to assess risk. It provides a set of
fundamental principles and good practice which underpin risk assessment
for all mental health settings and provides a list of tools offering structure
to risk management. The aim of this publication is to support services in
adopting a systematic approach to risk assessment at all levels and across
all disciplines within the mental health services, thus enabling risk
management to be embedded in day to day practice, (DOH (UK) 2007).
These tools are of relevance to the practice of clinical risk assessment in
mental health services in Ireland.
It is important to acknowledge that risk assessment tools should support,
rather than replace, professional judgement. The limitations and values of
risk assessment tools must be understood. Accurate risk prediction may
not be possible at an individual level; however the use of structured risk
assessment when systematically applied by a clinical team with a tiered
approach to risk assessment can enhance clinical judgement. This will
contribute to effective safe service delivery.
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