Suicide awareness
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Last reviewed: 09/04/2026
Suicide awareness
Suicide awareness
Despite previous Congress debates and UK wide national initiatives on suicide, there remain significant gaps across services, with many registered nurses lacking knowledge and understanding around suicide – knowing what to do, when to share and when to step in.
National policy and guidance
The Government launched a national suicide prevention strategy in 2023. The five year plan outlines more than 100 measures to help save more lives going forward.
The NICE guideline on preventing suicide in community and custodial settings covers ways to reduce suicide and help people bereaved or affected by suicides, and the NICE quality standard on suicide prevention covers ways to reduce suicide and help people bereaved or affected by suicide. It also describes high-quality care in priority areas for improvement.
The RCN Mental health programme is a member of The National Suicide Prevention Alliance (NSPA) an alliance of public, private and voluntary organisations in England who care about suicide prevention and are willing to take individual and collective action to reduce suicide and support those bereaved or affected by suicide.
Further information about RCN Suicide Awareness activity
The Preventing suicide: lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans young people toolkit is a collaboration between the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and Public Health England to support and develop the role of nurses in the prevention of suicide amongst the LGBTQ+ community.
RCN report: Understanding the factors underpinning suicidal ideation amongst the UK nursing workforce
The nursing community makes an invaluable contribution to identifying and caring for individuals experiencing a mental health crisis, especially those at risk of, or experiencing suicidal thoughts. However, nursing staff themselves are considered a high risk group.
In September 2024, the RCN released a report showing a rise in nursing staff with suicidal thoughts contacting the RCN for support, with many citing workplace as a key factor. Suicide is a complex issue, but the RCN says employers have a duty of care to provide a healthy working environment and the College is calling for a national set of standards to improve workplace culture, reduce stigma and encourage nursing staff to seek support when suffering from suicidal thoughts.
What to do if you are suicidal
If you are feeling suicidal and feeling that you want to die, it is important that you tell someone. Call the Samaritans on 116 123, email jo@samaritans.org or read these important messages. Please try to stay safe until you can speak to someone about how you feel.
There are also other helplines that you may want to use:
- NHS. Help for suicidal thoughts.
- Student minds mental health charity.
- If you are a member of the RCN you can get support from the RCN or call RCN Direct on 0345 772 6100
If you are helping someone with suicidal feelings, there is more information available from Mind and Time to Change.
Supporting professionals: understanding and spotting early warning signs
- Consultant Nurse Chris Hart & mental health nurse colleagues at South West London and St George’s MH NHS Trust have devised these videos, which demonstrate ways to assess suicidal thoughts and support a family. See: Risk management with a young man who is suicidal and his family and How to undertake a suicide risk assessment in an inpatient setting.
- Gareth Hughes & Leigh Spanner (2019). The University Mental Health Charter. The vision of this charter "is that every university becomes a place that promotes the mental health and wellbeing of all members of the university community".
- Health Education England & National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health (NCCMH). Self-harm and suicide prevention frameworks. These competency frameworks describe activities that need to be brought together to support people who self-harm and/or are suicidal.
- Public Health Scotland. Overview of suicide prevention.
- Public Health Agency. Minding your head. This website provides information about mental health and how to find support services near you.
Further resources
Brief online training
Face-to-face training
Laura Hyde Foundation
The Laura Hyde Foundation charity is dedicated to changing the landscape of mental health for emergency services and medical staff with three areas of focus:
- Raising awareness of the mental health challenges facing the emergency services
- Driving the bespoke change needed to the mental health support structures for this sector
- De-stigmatising the conversation around mental health within the uniformed and medical services.
