A year has passed since the publication of a new national suicide prevention strategy for England.1 In that time, the political landscape has shifted and we now have a new government in place, but national data on deaths by suicide are still showing worrying trends.
As outlined in last year’s strategy, welcome progress has been made over the past two decades: local suicide prevention plans and suicide bereavement services are in place in all areas of the country, and there was a 35% fall in suicides in mental health inpatient settings in England between 2010 and 2020.1 Recently published data, however, show there were still 5656 deaths by suicide in England in 2023.2 The rate of men’s lives lost to suicide remains three times higher than women. Suicide and self-harm among young people are also still on the rise. And while national datasets won’t pick this up, it’s vital to keep in mind that suicide has an immeasurably devastating and widespread effect on the people who have lost someone.
The new Labour government has already committed to reducing the number of lives lost to suicide and pledged to train an additional 8500 new mental health staff to support people at risk.3 The Labour Party also consulted before the general election on how each government department could contribute to reducing the number of lives lost to suicide.
These are important and welcome steps, but they’re only the beginning. With the government’s first budget approaching and the latest data showing that suicide rates are at the highest level since 1999,2 we are at a critical juncture in the conversation on how we succeed in reducing the number of lives lost through suicide and improve support for those at risk of, or affected by, suicide.
There was much to welcome in the suicide prevention strategy published under the previous government, including its emphasis on the crucial role of frontline services and the importance of a cross-government approach and agencies working together to respond to people in crisis. NHS Providers was pleased to see the inclusion of actions that trust leaders had previously identified as important areas to focus on, such as wider prevention efforts, especially through education and workplace training; better signposting to local help and support; and investment in self-care skills.
The extent to which the strategy would be backed by sufficient resources was, and remains, a key question and one which the new government now needs to consider.
Support and investment are needed to recruit, train, and retain the staff required to deliver key measures. Priority should be given to earlier intervention and community services that enable people to access the support they need as soon and as close to home as possible. Mental health inpatient services also need adequate levels of support and investment—particularly capital funding—to ensure that people receive safe, high quality inpatient care as soon as possible if and when they need it.
Local authorities and healthcare services may need to concentrate investment in different ways to deliver on national ambitions for their area, so flexibility will be crucial. Trust leaders have also stressed the need to enable a more detailed understanding of, and response to, population based trends.
It will be important to involve people affected by suicide so that the NHS and its partners can develop and implement effective plans for their local populations. Many mental health trusts are already collaborating with their local communities to understand what works best for them and tailor their services accordingly. For example, Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust worked with more than 100 people with lived experience to develop refreshed Life Cards that better signpost people to key organisations for advice and support.
Last year, we shone a spotlight on other work that NHS trusts and their wider partners are delivering to support people in their communities who are at risk of suicide and their families and carers.6 More than 200 trusts continue to work through the Zero Suicide Alliance to identify and share best practice on suicide prevention. However, trust leaders know more needs to be done.
The next few weeks present a key opportunity for the government to ensure that NHS trusts and their wider partners are set up with the resources and support they need to help deliver the ambition to reduce the number of lives lost to, and affected by, suicide. With the right national and local action, we can change the narrative.
This blog was first published by the BMJ.
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