Mind responds to announcement of UK Government national suicide prevention strategy

Earlier this week the UK Government announced a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy, aiming to significantly reduce the number of people taking their own lives in England by 2025.

The strategy aims to:

• Reduce England’s suicide rate within 2.5 years with launch of new National Suicide Prevention Strategy

• Aid specific groups at risk of suicide, including children and young people, middle-aged men, autistic people, pregnant women, and new mothers

• Introduce more than 100 measures being taken including a national alert system to combat emerging methods of suicide and refreshed guidance for first responders

Reacting to the news, Dr Sarah Hughes, CEO of Mind, said: “When people reach a crisis point with their mental health, many attempt to end their lives. So focussing on driving down suicide is welcome, and we look forward to hearing how the UK government will fund the plans in this strategy. We will also be looking closely at the detail of the strategy to make sure it explains how the government will tackle the social injustices at the root of why some communities are more at risk of suicide.

“Alongside this strategy, we need to see increased efforts to tackle the number of people experiencing mental health problems and reaching crisis. The UK government must reform the Mental Health Act before the next General Election and we trust it will have the same level of focus on boosting mental health services in its Major Conditions Strategy.”