ABSTRACT
Infection control has become a major concern to patients and health professionals. Health professionals working with patients who are subject to mental health legislation must ensure that they have a thorough working knowledge of the statutory powers as they apply to their area of practice. If the health professional sees a patient who later commits suicide, the timings of the entries will be crucial in determining how long after the patient was seen by the health professional the patient took their own life. A report from of the Department of Health highlighted the need to improve case recording in social services departments (SSDs). The case record is the written account of the SSD's work with an individual or family, which details the individual contacts with the service user, the work to be done and its objectives, the procedure to be followed, the assessment of need, the case plan, the timing, process and outcomes of reviews.
