Suicide prevention strategy: action plan (DHSC, 11 September 2023)

Summary

This policy paper sets out the Government's visions and aims to prevent self-harm and suicide, including the actions the government and other organisations will take to save lives.

The strategy sets out the government’s ambitions over the next 5 years to:

• reduce suicide rates
• improve support for people who have self-harmed
• improve support for people bereaved by suicide.

It includes steps and actions from across government and a wide range of organisations to achieve these ambitions with the ultimate aim to reduce the suicide rate over the next 5 years – with initial reductions in half this time.

Content

Data, evidence and engagement with experts (including those with personal experience) has identified the following priority areas for action to achieve these aims. These are to:  

• Improve data and evidence to ensure that effective, evidence-informed and timely interventions continue to be adapted.
• Provide tailored, targeted support to priority groups, including those at higher risk. At a national level, this includes: children and young people, middle-aged men, people who have self-harmed, people in contact with mental health services, people in contact with the justice system, autistic people, pregnant women and new mothers.
• Address common risk factors linked to suicide at a population level by providing early intervention and tailored support. These are: physical illness, financial difficulty and economic adversity, gambling, alcohol and drug misuse, social isolation and loneliness, domestic abuse.
• Promote online safety and responsible media content to reduce harms, improve support and signposting, and provide helpful messages about suicide and self-harm.
• Provide effective crisis support across sectors for those who reach crisis point.
• Reduce access to means and methods of suicide where this is appropriate and necessary as an intervention to prevent suicides.
• Provide effective bereavement support to those affected by suicide.
• Make suicide everybody’s business so that we can maximise our collective impact and support to prevent suicides.

The strategy sets out over 100 actions led by government departments, the NHS, the voluntary sector and other national partners to make progress against these areas, particularly over the next 2 years.