To mark the second year of the UK’s National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers, NHS Practitioner Health will launch a suicide prevention and postvention navigation guide for health and care professionals.
The National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers (NSMD) was launched on 17th September 2024 by NHS Practitioner Health and Doctors in Distress to provide an annual opportunity to remember the health and care workers we have lost to suicide – colleagues, friends, and loved ones whose contributions made a difference, and whose absence is deeply felt.
Since 2011, 2,500 healthcare workers in the UK have died by suicide — on average, four every week. These were dedicated professionals, family members, and friends who were struggling, often in silence.
Notably, 1 in 3 health and care professionals who registered with NHS Practitioner Health in 2024/25 disclosed experiencing suicidal thoughts or plans. This number reflects the insurmountable pressures that the health and care workforce face.
This year’s theme is Hope Through Action: an invitation to remember, reflect, and act to help create a future where no more lives are lost to suicide.
In line with this initiative, NHS Practitioner Health’s navigation guide aims to equip health and care professionals across the UK with the skills to respond to a suicide-related crisis with confidence, compassion, and care.
Titled ‘Touched by Suicide’, this digital guide provides health and care professionals with a variety of advice and tools for preventing, responding, and recovering after an instance of suicide. Nearly every health and care professional will be touched by suicide – whether through the loss of a patient or colleague, personal mental health struggles, or supporting others on their team who have been affected.
Lucy Warner, Chief Executive of NHS Practitioner Health, said: “This guide brings together our own experiences in Practitioner Health, together with the expertise and resources developed by experts in the field, into one easily navigated space. We aim to enable health and care professionals to feel confident and supported in talking about suicide, whether that is opening up conversations about difficult feelings, or practical and logistical steps to ensure support after a loss.”
Dr Helen Garr, Medical Director at NHS Practitioner Health, said: “Suicide will touch many of us working in health and care, whether through the loss of a patient, a colleague, or in our own personal lives. It can be difficult to know what to do or where to turn for support. Our Navigation guide brings together key resources, guidance, practical tools and most importantly hope in one place to help guide us when we need it most.”
Mary Jane Roberts, CEO for Doctors in Distress, said: “We are proud to support NHS Practitioner Health in the launch of this guide to help healthcare professionals facing a suicide- related crisis. Doctors in Distress and NHS Practitioner Health’s collaboration to establish the annual National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers reflects our shared commitment to ensuring that those who care for others receive the support they need.
"Since launching our support programmes in 2020, we have provided vital mental health support to over 6000 healthcare staff. We remain dedicated to driving a compassionate, proactive culture of wellbeing across the healthcare sector — one where seeking help is encouraged, and support is always within reach.”
