[Continuity of care following suicide-related compulsory admission]

In connection with recent articles about guidelines for dealing with persons attempting suicide, we investigated the quality and continuity of aftercare provided for patients admitted to a mental institution because they have attempted to commit suicide. 25% of patients received no aftercare at all. For most of the others aftercare began within two weeks; 50% of these patients were still receiving care nine months later. Follow-up studies are needed so that we can find out whether the absence of aftercare can cause problems for patients admitted to an institution because they have threatened to commit suicide.