New Guidance to Support Collective Local Action to Prevent Suicide
First published on 28 November 2022
- Suicide
Three new pieces of guidance have been published by Public Health Scotland (PHS) to support local action on suicide prevention.
This suite of guidance has been developed in partnership with local suicide prevention leads, those with lived and living experience, and other stakeholders. Containing practical tools and case studies, the guidance is targeted at those with a responsibility for preventing and responding to issues related to suicide in their local areas. The guidance contains recommendations to help address potential triggers for suicide, reduce access to means and incorporate suicide prevention into local planning and infrastructures.
Shirley Windsor, Organisation Lead for Public Mental Health at PHS said:
“We have a collective aim in Scotland to reduce the number of deaths by suicide. In support of the Scotland’s new Suicide Prevention Action Plan, we continue to prioritise suicide prevention with a focus on facilitating local action with a national approach.
“Delivery of effective suicide prevention action requires people and organisations to have the understanding, knowledge, and skills to be able to play their part. Easy access to information is essential to enable them to respond in informed ways and the suite of guidance published today adds significantly to the resources needed to address suicide in Scotland.
“We will continue to build on this, supporting local partners to not only embed the guidance into their practice, but also promote the sharing of experiences to identify where these resources can be further enhanced.
“Suicide is preventable - coordinated and collective action is key.”
If you, or anyone you know, are experiencing thoughts of suicide:
If you’re dealing with suicidal thoughts or thinking about self-harm, it’s important to know that you're not alone. Help is available when you’re feeling low – you do not have to hurt yourself or suffer in silence.
If you're struggling to cope, reach out to one of the services on NHS inform.
If it's an emergency, dial 999.
View the new guidance: