News

September saw the publication of the results of a survey of 10,000 secondary school pupils. The OxWell School Survey is a repeated cross-sectional, self-report survey on children and adolescents’ mental health and well-being, commencing in 2019. The 2020 survey was completed during June-July either on school premises or from home due to partial school closures during the first COVID-19 UK national lockdown.

Universities UK (UUK), in partnership with PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide, has published recommendations calling on universities to be more proactive in preventing student suicides. Suicides in student populations is relatively rare, as with any death by suicide it has a large impact. The new guidance sets out how and when universities should involve families, carers, and trusted others when there are serious concerns about the safety or mental health of a student.

To mark WSPD, we are showcasing some of the projects that we have supported in the last year in the September edition of our newsletter. This year’s WSPD theme is Creating Hope Through Action, and we are sure you will agree that these brilliant initiatives are doing exactly that.

We’ve been reading a very useful report about the sensitive topic of asking about suicide and self-harm when a patient is in primary care. You can read the full report from Ford et al here and we have pulled out some of the key points in this article.

NSPA’s Lived Experience Network is striving to ensure that suicide prevention activity across the country is underpinned by the voices of people with lived experience, and that knowledge of those with lived experience is valued, respected and seen as legitimate.

Alice Hendy lost her only sibling, her brother Josh, on 25th November 2020 to suicide at 21 years old. After examining Josh’s phone, Alice found that he had been researching techniques to take his own life via harmful internet searches. Mental health is a serious and urgent issue. Online searches for suicide methods have increased by 50% in the last 2 years with searches for suicide support lines also up by 150% since January 2019 (Semrush, 2021).