Government launches new national suicide prevention strategy

The government has launched a new national suicide prevention strategy to rapidly reduce England’s suicide rate within two and a half years.

Over 100 measures have been outlined in the strategy aimed at saving lives, providing early intervention and supporting anyone going through the trauma of a crisis. This includes a new national alert system to notify relevant authorities – like schools, universities, and charities – of emerging methods of suicides and risks, and any required actions that can reduce access or limit awareness.

Fresh guidance will also be issued to first responders, recognising new and emerging methods, and how such incidents should be dealt with and there will be near real-time surveillance of trends in suicides enabling more timely and targeted actions.

The strategy also contains measures for specific groups of people, such as middle-aged men who have had the highest rates of suicide of any other group since 2010.

To support them, the strategy therefore includes an action to ensure employers in largely male industries like construction and manufacturing have appropriate support in place for employees, such as mental health first aiders.

National suicide prevention strategy will save lives

Steve Mallen, co-founder of Zero Suicide Alliance, said: “The publication of the new national suicide prevention strategy is perfectly timed to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day, which reminds everyone everywhere that suicide prevention is everyone’s responsibility.

“The new strategy was prepared in consultation with sector leaders, diverse interest groups and people with lived experience, making it a collaborative resource impacting the whole population. In addition, the inter-departmental co-operation and alignment across government in preparing the new strategy was essential and greatly welcomed. With the accompanying action plan and oversight, there is a clear intention to save lives and improve wellbeing.”

Last month, the government launched a £10 million Suicide Prevention Grant Fund, calling on the voluntary sector across England to apply for funding to continue supporting tens of thousands of people experiencing suicidal thoughts. It comes alongside an expected spend of £13.6 billion this year alone to transform the country’s mental health services so millions of people can quickly access NHS support.

In addition to this, as part of its ongoing work with the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA), the government will explore whether regulatory change is required to decrease how many tablets like paracetamol can be sold to a customer or patient at once.

Health and Social Care Secretary Steve Barclay added: “Too many people are still affected by the tragedy of suicide, which is so often preventable. This national cross-government strategy details over 100 actions we’ll take to ensure anyone experiencing the turmoil of a crisis has access to the urgent support they need. It’s imperative we support people earlier to prevent them reaching the lowest point, while tackling emerging methods of suicide and eradicating harmful material online.

“We’re working at pace to achieve this, and we continue to invest billions of pounds to transform and improve our nation’s mental health services, and – most importantly – save lives.”