Suicide prevention and postvention
This web page provides information on the impact of suicide and how employers can best support their staff through preventative and postventative measures.
The impact of suicide
Rates of deaths by suicide are climbing across the world:
- Over 700,000 people take their own life each year – that’s one person every 40 seconds (The World Health Organisation, 2021)
- 1 in 15 people attempt suicide (Champion Health, 2022)
- Males aged 45-49 have the highest suicide rate (Samaritans)
Suicide does not discriminate, it affects our NHS staff:
- Doctors are twice as likely to take their own lives compared with people working in other professions.
- Nurses are four times as likely to take their own lives than people working in any other profession in the UK.
- Female nurses are more likely to take their own lives than their male counterparts.
According to Champion Health, the current cost of living crisis has increased financial pressures on staff, and employees experiencing financial stress have been found to be twice as likely to experience thoughts of suicide or self-harm.
Suicide is preventable and employers play a crucial role in suicide prevention. People in work spend about one third of their lives at their place of employment. Colleagues and line managers can provide an important social and emotional support network, built on shared experiences.
In 2022, the Workplace Health Expert Committee (WHEC) published their work-related suicide evidence review. WHEC's reports cover evidence reviews and position papers, giving their independent expert opinion on key topics for workplace health.
Suicide prevention guidance
Employers have a crucial role to play in suicide prevention. It is vital employers have a strong suicide prevention strategy which supports the health and wellbeing of staff. Being compassionate leaders and creating a psychologically safe space is also crucial in supporting colleagues to bring their whole selves to work without the risk of stigma around this issue.
NHS England has developed a toolkit to help NHS organisations reduce the risk of suicide among staff. The working together to prevent suicide in the NHS workforce toolkit, published in September 2023, is designed to help organisations embed suicide prevention strategies into their health and wellbeing policies and offer guidance around supporting those at risk of suicide.
Suicide postvention guidance
Alongside a strong organisational suicide prevention strategy, it is vital that employers include a suicide postvention strategy into their management of the crisis, supporting those staff affected by suicide and experiencing trauma, as well as those experiencing bereavement due to death by suicide of a colleague or loved one.
New suicide postvention guidance developed by the University of Surrey uses insight and testimonials from NHS staff affected by colleague suicide as well as those who have provided support to staff affected by suicide. The guidance is intended for everyone who works in the NHS but is also targeted towards NHS executive leaders, decision makers and policymakers. It was launched on 25 July 2023, with a recording of the launch event now available.
The NHS Confederation, NHS Employers, NHS England and Samaritans have also recently developed a dedicated postvention toolkit. This practical resource is aimed at helping NHS organisations develop a process for managing the impact of employee suicide on colleagues and is particularly useful for staff working in human resources, occupational health and health and wellbeing.
How can organisations address the issue?
Mental health champions
By implementing mental health champions into your organisation, you can ensure there is a first line of support and signposting available for your staff. Having a supportive conversation at the right time can often prevent a tragic loss. Ensuring that the knowledge and experience of your champions are up to date and they are confident to face potentially difficult scenarios can help ensure an effective service. Raise their profiles by embedding them into the employee induction process and enabling them to take part in staff network conversations, it's important that staff are aware of who they can contact if they need support.
Upskill your line managers
Ensure your line managers have the right training and skills to spot signs of suicidal thoughts and effectively signpost to appropriate avenues. Read about how you can upskill your managers to support the mental health of your staff. Encouraging compassionate leadership can help staff open up and beat the stigma around mental health conversations at work.
World Suicide Prevention Day
Every year on 10 September, the world comes together to raise awareness of suicide and highlight the actions we can take to try and prevent deaths by suicide. You can find out more about the day and how your organisation can support and get involved on the Samaritans website.
