Government launches new national suicide prevention strategy
The Government have recently launched their new national suicide prevention strategy which aims to reduce the suicide rate in England within two and a half years.
They aim to do this by:
- Focus on prevention and early intervention
- Targeted support to priority groups including those at a higher risk of suicide
- Significant focus on tackling lethal substances, including new alert system
- Delivering near real-time surveillance of emerging trends in suicides
If successful, thousands more people approaching a crisis will get the support they so desperately need and fewer loved ones will go through the heartbreak of losing a friend or relative to suicide, as the government launches a new national strategy to rapidly reduce England’s suicide rate.
The strategy also includes targeted support to priority groups including children and young people, middle-aged men, autistic people, pregnant women and new mothers.
The new national alert system allows anyone to highlight new methods of suicide into central government for consideration and discussion. Through this, alerts will be circulated to all authorities who may be required to take mitigating action. The one-page alert will lay out the risks and give clear instruction on how to safeguard those who may be at risk.
Health and Social Care Secretary, Steve Barclay has said:
“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…we continue to invest billions of pounds to transform and improve our nation’s mental health services, and – most importantly – save lives”.
Healthwatch Lancashire continue to hear feedback about mental health, and the true devastation it can cause to individuals and families. This new strategy highlights how future suicide rates may be reduced and through prevention and early intervention, provide support to those who need it the most.
You can read more about the new strategy here