Suicide in mental health service users

Background

Suicides by people in contact with mental health services are arguably the most preventable. Between 2010 and 2021, over a quarter (26%) of all suicides in the general population were accounted for by individuals in contact with mental health services. Improving services by enhancing the level of support they provide may help make a stronger positive impact on the mental health of an individual and reduce the number of these tragic events. 

Most patients who die by suicide have a history of self-harm and are more likely to suffer from alcohol and drug misuse. They are also more likely to have undergone economic adversity (loss of job, benefits or housing). The first Cross-Government Suicide Prevention Workplan in 2019 included a zero-suicide ambition for mental health inpatients, with a view to expanding to include all mental health service users, alongside the national ambition to reduce the total number of suicides by 10% by 2020/21. A follow-up report, Preventing suicide in England: Fifth progress report, published in 2021, underscores the aim to reduce the number of suicides. The latter was superseded by the 5-year strategy plan Suicide prevention strategy for England: 2023 to 2028 published in 2023, which outlines the objectives of reducing suicide rates, improving support for people who have self-harmed and improving support for people bereaved by suicide. The actions set out by the strategy for people who have been in contact with mental health services include good quality follow-up support within 72 hours of being discharged and a safety planning working group involving experts and people with personal experience. 

If you are somebody who has been bereaved or affected by suicide, resources and help are available on the National Suicide Prevention Alliance website.

Number of patient suicides by UK country

While the number of suicides hasn’t changed significantly between 2013 and 2023, the increase in recorded patient suicides from 2018 aligns with the 2018 change in the standard of proof for suicide registrations. There was a decrease from 2022 to 2023 in the number of mental health patients who died by suicide in England, from 1,367 to 1,337. In Scotland, there were 208 suicides in 2023 by people who had been in contact with mental health services in the previous 12 months, in Wales there were 86 and in Northern Ireland there were 73. Despite the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, which led to economic and social adversity (risk factors for suicide), the number of suicides did not increase overall or in vulnerable groups such as those aged 25 or below or those aged 75 and above.

Northern Ireland data prior to 2015 is not directly comparable with that of 2015 onwards. See ‘About this data’ for more information.

Rate of patient suicides by gender

Between 2013 and 2023, the total patient suicide number decreased from 1,770 mental health service users to a projected 1,704 service users, mostly due to a fall between 2013 and 2014. 

The number of suicides in mental health service users is almost twice as high in men compared with women. In 2023, 63% of the mental health patients who died by suicide were male and 37% were female. 

Data for 2021–23 is projected because the figures are incomplete; please see ‘About this data’ for more information.