A home visit. A treatment time. Or just a phone call. For someone who has attempted to take their own life, subsequent contact can mean the difference between life and death.

But only nearly one in three – 29 percent – who have been in contact with the emergency room after a suicide attempt receive follow-up contact in the week after discharge. This is shown by a brand-new report from the Danish Health Authority. Instead, they are discharged without psychiatric follow-up at a time when they are most vulnerable.