The National Suicide Prevention Strategy

Today the government announced a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy, with over 100 actions to get the number of suicides in England falling in the next two and a half years as we build on our investment in mental health services to save lives.

• Too many people are still affected by the tragedy of suicide, which is the biggest cause of death in men under the age of 50 and a major cause of death in women too: the Samaritans answer a call for help every 10 seconds, and tragically, around every 90 minutes someone dies from suicide in the UK alone. Furthermore, many of these tragic deaths are preventable.
• So the government is today announcing a new National Suicide Prevention Strategy, with over one hundred actions to help decrease the number of suicides in England within two and a half years, including a national alert system to combat emerging methods of suicide and refreshed guidance for first responders.
• This new, cross-government strategy will help build on the £13.6 billion we have invested just this year to transform and improve our nation’s mental health services, help recruit 9,300 extra mental health workers and – most importantly – save lives.