Mental Health Suicide and Self-Harm
Overview and context
The Government’s White Paper Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation (OHN) (1) identified mental health
as one of four key areas and set a challenging target to reduce the death rate from suicide and
undetermined injury by at least a fifth by the year 2010. This target is also included in the Public
Service Agreements (PSAs) (2) between the Department of Health, Treasury and Number Ten and the
National Service Framework for Mental Health (3).
In 2002 the first National Suicide Prevention Strategy in England (4) was launched which sets out a coordinated programme of activities to reduce suicide based on six goals:
- to reduce risk in key high risk groups;
- to promote mental well-being in the wider population;
- to reduce availability and lethality of suicide methods;
- to improve reporting of suicidal behaviour in the media;
- to promote research on suicide and suicide prevention; and
- to improve monitoring of progress towards the OHN target to reduce suicides.
Annual progress reports on the strategy and other suicide prevention resources are published by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE)
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Suicide in London
In the period 2002-2004:
- there were 1,923 suicides in London (on average 641 deaths per year or 8.3 suicides per 100,000)
- the overall suicide rate in London was not significantly different than the England average. However inequalities within the capital remained large. The lowest rates were in outer London which overall had a statistically significantly lower rate than the England average. Inner London had a significantly higher rate that the England average, due to significantly higher rates in Camden and Islington.
- despite considerable success in reducing suicide rates, further work was required to meet London’s PSA target rate of 7.2 suicides per 100,000 by 2009-11.
Sex, age and methods
In London in 2002-2004:
- seven out of 10 suicides were in men. The highest rates for males being in the ages 30-54 years, and for females in the years 75-79 and 85+ and ages 35-64 years
- suicides accounted for over 1 in 5 and around 1 in 8 deaths in males and females aged 20-34 years respectively. Rates in these ages have fallen considerably but further improvement is required
- the most common methods of suicide in men were hanging, strangulation or suffocation in men (40% of adult male suicides in 2002/04) and drug-related poisoning (18%)
- the most common methods of suicide in women were drug-related poisoning (41%) followed by hanging, strangulation or suffocation (27%)
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Self-harm in London
Part of the implementation plan to reduce the risk of suicide in high risk groups focuses on reducing
the number of suicides following deliberate self-harm (DSH). There is currently no routine information on
the frequency of DSH in the community, although estimates of the prevalence of DSH have been published by
the Office for National Statistics (5). Of those people surveyed aged between 16-74 years, 0.5% had
attempted suicide in the past year and 4.4% said they had ever attempted suicide. In comparison 2.4% said
that they had deliberately self-harmed without suicide intent. There is an important distinction between
DSH with and without suicidal intent although the relationship may be complex between these two events.
In London:
- it is estimated that in 2005 there would have been around 33,000 people who engaged in
non-fatal suicide attempts. Fifty six per cent of these would be among women. For every one
successful suicide there may be between 55-56 people attempting suicide per year in London
- the majority of people admitted for self-harm are female; women represented 58 per cent
of admissions for self harm between 2000/01 and 2002/03. This is in contrast to men
representing 70 per cent of suicides.
Mental Health Suicide and Self-Harm - Datasets & Reports
- Department of Health (1999) Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation.
- Spending Review. Public Service Agreements 2005-2007.
- Department of Health (1999) National Service Framework for Mental Health.
- Department of Health (2002) National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England.
- Meltzer H, Lader D, Corbin T, Singleton N, Jenkins R, and Brugha T (2002) Non-fatal suicidal behaviour among adults aged 16 to 74 in Great Britain London: TSO.
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Contacts for further information
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