Samaritans responds to government suicide prevention announcement

Responding to today’s speech on suicide prevention by Sajid Javid, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Jacqui Morrissey, Assistant Director of Research and Influencing at Samaritans, said:

“These are very encouraging words from the Secretary of State and we look forward to seeing them turned into action. As someone who has been personally touched by suicide, Sajid Javid knows better than most that suicide prevention is everyone’s business and with so many complex factors that can lead to someone taking their own life, having MPs, civil servants and frontline government workers being trained in suicide prevention would be a big step forward.

“Samaritans has campaigned hard for better data to help make suicide prevention approaches more effective and so we are particularly pleased to see the commitment to a national suicide surveillance system being rolled out early next year.

“The Government has rightly recognised the importance of hearing from people with lived experience of suicide in order to develop policies that support but don’t dictate. Samaritans will continue to work closely with our volunteers, supporters and our lived experience panel, to make sure their voices are heard. Men are more vulnerable to suicide and at the same time the least likely to reach out for help when they are struggling so we must put every effort into seeking out their views in particular.

“The word ‘suicide’ can sound scary but its only by getting everyone talking together that we can make real progress on reducing suicide rates. Hopefully this will be the start of a national conversation that starts to break down the stigma of suicide and makes a real difference to people’s lives.”