Helping to make ‘zero suicide’ a feasible goal

According to a report by the Samaritans, three times more people die by suicide than by road accident,1and it is estimated to be the leading cause of death in men under the age of 50. As one of the leading causes of premature death within the UK, the whole issue of poor mental health is one that, rightly, has become increasingly high profile. Alarmingly, however, this rise has been met with significant budget cuts, as resources for the NHS have become more and more stretched. Indeed mental health Trusts in England have had their funds cut by £150m over the past four years,2while nursing posts have shrunk by 12% – limiting the amount of care and time available for recovery.3 

In a recent report by The Guardian, six in 10 NHS mental health workers said they were unable to provide proper care because they did not have enough time,4while a recent account by a mental health service-user described staff as being ‘too tired, too overstretched, too budget-poor, or too undertrained, to provide adequate care’.5

Despite this, Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust chief executive, Joe Rafferty, is committed to eliminating suicides among people in his care. He has recently said: “If zero isn’t the right number, then what is? No death by suicide should ever be regarded as acceptable or inevitable.”6Indeed, it is surely better to aim for zero and miss, than to set the goal too low.