Doctor in self-harm row

A former plunket paediatrician is under fire for suggesting doctors tell teenagers who deliberately mutilate themselves to use "sharp, clean" blades rather than glass or rusty metal cans.

The advice from UK-based neurodevelopmental paediatrician Charles Essex, who previously worked as Plunket's regional paediatrician in Auckland, is carried in NZ Doctor's latest issue.

Experts estimate one in 10 New Zealand high school students carry out the disturbing practice of self-harm.

In the article Dr Essex said: "A professional in this field compared 'withdrawing' self cutting to depriving a smoker of cigarettes: it does not make the craving less, and temporarily may make it worse.

"One approach, therefore, is to advise safe self-cutting - using sharp, clean blades instead of glass or rusty metal cans, advising where to cut so as not to damage underlying tendons or arteries..."

Magazine editor Barbara Fountain said the article raised some interesting points. "The idea of the columns is to provide forums for GP discussion."

However, Youthline director Stephen Bell strongly criticised Dr Essex's comments. "I think it's entering into really dangerous territory, especially if that person ends up killing themselves," he said. "With suicide you don't go into schools to talk about suicide - you talk about self-confidence."

Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand (SPINZ) director Merryn Statham said Dr Essex's suggestions could be potentially damaging for those seeking treatment.

There was absolutely no evidence to back up his theories, she said.

National MP Jonathan Coleman, who has worked as a GP, described Dr Essex's methods as a "loopy academic idea".

"To be honest, it seems bonkers to me," he said.

Royal College of General Practitioners director Jonathan Fox said anyone deliberately harming themselves needed pyschological help.