Suicide is the biggest killer of young people in the UK. What needs to be done to prevent these avoidable deaths now and how can CPs help? Journalist Jo Waters reports.
Heartbreaking testimonies from young people who were turned away from services and not taken seriously when they were feeling suicidal, were aired during a recent high-profile MP-led inquiry. MPs from the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention wanted to hear the young voices behind the worrying suicide figures.
In 2023, 547 young people aged 10 to 24 in England and Wales sadly took their own lives (Samaritans, 2023a). In Scotland, 82 young people died by suicide. (Samaritans, 2023b). And in Northern Ireland, one in every five suicide deaths was someone under 30 (Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency, 2025). On average, around five young people under 35 take their lives each day in the UK, with more than 200 teenagers lost to suicide every year (PAPYRUS, 2025).
Suicide rates among people aged under 20 are lower than in other age groups, though there have been concerning increases among children and young people over recent years (ONS, 2025), with every death a tragedy. It’s a beyond sad fact that suicide remains the main cause of death in people under the age of 35 in the UK (APPG, 2025; PAPYRUS 2025).
The APPG committee heard evidence (between September 2023 to November 2024) from 150 people aged 18 to 25 in England who had experienced suicidal thoughts or attempts. The MPs also heard from 124 people who had been affected by a young person’s suicide, as well as health practitioners, researchers and third sector organisations.
VITAL YOUNG VOICES
The APPG report (2025) noted that most (87%) of the 132 young people who took part in a survey had sought or received help from services. While 59% had received or been offered NHS help, only 32% found it helpful. The young people’s experiences in A&E were even more troubling, as only 17% found the response useful.
One young person who reported her suicidal feelings to child and mental health services (CAMHS) said staff didn’t listen and dismissed her concerns as ‘exam stress’. Another witness said an A&E nurse told her she was ‘faking it all for attention’. Others spoke of having symptoms that were not deemed severe enough for higher level services, but yet the services they could access were not equipped to support suicidal feelings.
‘THERE IS A CLEAR SOCIETAL ISSUE WITH YOUNG PEOPLE NOT FEELING HEARD. NOT JUST IN HEALTHCARE, BUT IN EDUCATION AND RELATIONSHIPS WITH FAMILIES AND FRIENDS’
Naomi Graves is a policy officer at the Samaritans, the charity that gave secretariat support to the inquiry. She was struck by how many young people felt they were not taken seriously. ‘This was across the board, not just in healthcare, but in education and relationships with families and friends. There is a clear societal issue with young people not feeling heard.’
Policy and public affairs manager at charity YoungMinds, Ellie White, says that young people with mental health problems can face extra stigma and discrimination. ‘We also often hear about them being judged “not unwell enough”, or even “not being suicidal enough”’. As a result, they ‘wait a long time for support, get worse, and get into crisis situations’, she points out.
The APPG report (2025) urges the government to invest in suicide prevention training for all frontline NHS staff and the education workforce. In addition, suicide prevention should be integrated into school curricula, and moves to embed mental health support teams in schools should accelerate.
The report also called on the government to encourage the creation of free, community-based mental health services providing immediate support in non-clinical settings, plus more financial backing for the third sector, which currently fills many of the service gaps and struggles to cope with demand. While the report was based on England, there are of course lessons for the UK as a whole.
TIME TO CHAT
PAPYRUS is a UK charity dedicated to the prevention of suicide and the promotion of positive mental health and emotional wellbeing in young people. Chief executive Ged Flynn welcomed the APPG focus on promoting education on suicide.
Too often, frontline workers – including school nurses (SNs), can feel that passing children and young people with mental health problems to CAMHS is the only option. ‘I can understand there being a bit of fear around an acute mental illness or immediate crisis,’ says Ged. ‘But we’re trying to educate people that ordinary interactions can still save lives … just being kind to kids and listening to them, not trying to fix them, but just taking their concerns seriously.
‘Don’t see suicide prevention as a specialism beyond your ability, as suicide prevention is essentially heart-to-heart, recognising pain in another. You may need others to help you, just like any teacher may need a skilled SN and the skilled nurse will need the teacher or the parent. We have to work together but I don’t want people to think “oh it’s too scary” and not touch it.’
Ged points out that grief can arise from different kinds of losses. ‘Grief isn’t [just] what follows a death, but any change. A child could experience it when they change school, move class, their mum and dad split up, a family pet dies or somebody in their family is sick. Anything like that can create an adverse childhood experience and children grieve those’. But many people are ‘ill equipped to stand alongside them when they’re doing that. All they need is time, care and respect and SNs are brilliantly placed’.
The charity will soon be launching a two-day training programme (Seasons for growth) to help health professionals understand the full scope of grief that can affect young people.
‘I know it’s not easy for SNs,’ empathises Ged. ‘The demands are going up and the resources are being pulled.’
Naomi agrees on the importance of open conversations. ‘I think there is a gap in the way we are training our healthcare staff to confidently approach young people in discussions about suicide,’ she says. Naomi recommends having open conversations, asking ‘So are you thinking about suicide?’ rather than adopting euphemisms.
‘There are very clear pressures on the health system, but I think it often comes down to being listened to in that first instance before a young person is referred on or signposted to other services to support,’ Naomi highlights. ‘It’s important that teachers and SNs are trained to spot the signs that a young person is struggling and have a nonjudgmental approach to a conversation.’
Some 50% of school children in England are now covered by a mental health support team embedded in the school, the APPG inquiry heard. In response, MPs said the scheme should cover every school by April next year.
THE SCHOOL NURSE VIEWPOINT
The pressure facing CAMHS was laid bare in a recent analysis of NHS England data by YoungMinds (2025). It revealed a rise of 52% in waiting times for mental health support of a year or more for young people in 2023-24. During the same period, 171,134 young people had their referral to CAMHS closed before they could be seen. While waiting time issues for CAMHS exist UK-wide, there is variation – for instance, there have been recent improvements in Scotland, though long waits remain (BBC, 2025).
Lucy Owen from the School and Public Health Nursing Association (SAPHNA), says SNs have witnessed an increase in mental illness as their capacity to respond declines (SAPHNA, 2024). This has led to ‘a perfect storm with young people unable to get the help they need in a timely way’, says Lucy. Their survey of 278 SNs found that most respondents (86%) had seen an increase in suicide and self-harm at school, while 96% said the number of mental health cases had risen as well (SAPHNA, 2024).
This narrative was echoed in a report published by the Centre of Mental Health in April (2025) which urged the government to invest in the SN and health visitor workforces. It recognised the vital part they play in supporting children’s mental and physical health.
Former SN Rhian Ogden, CPHVA Executive member and a lecturer in children’s nursing at the University of Leeds, says SNs are seeing a significant increase in emotional health challenges among primary schoolchildren. ‘For instance, children are reporting feeling anxious at a younger age than previously. The younger they are, the less likely they are to be able to verbalise how they are feeling. They just feel worried about things such as friendships and bullying and what other people think of them.’
Rhian says it’s ‘overwhelmingly suggestive’ that the growing use of social media and smartphones is having an impact. ‘This is a new experience for everyone – the children using it, their parents, schools and SNs who are trying to guide them through. We need better controls.’
Ellie of YoungMinds echoes this: ‘Growing up today is really tough and things are not like they were 10, 20 or 30 years ago. We’re living in a period of intense political and global instability: climate breakdown, the proliferation of social media – and horrible trends – which means you can’t escape school bullies even when you’re at home in your own bedroom.’
More mental health teams are needed in schools, says Rhian. ‘Not to just help those who have mental health problems with early intervention, but to do preventive work to build resilience.’
‘WE’RE TRYING TO EDUCATE PEOPLE THAT ORDINARY INTERACTIONS CAN SAVE LIVES … JUST BEING KIND TO KIDS AND LISTENING, NOT TRYING TO FIX THEM, BUT TAKING THEIR CONCERNS SERIOUSLY. SUICIDE PREVENTION IS ESSENTIALLY A HEART-TO-HEART, RECOGNISING PAIN IN ANOTHER’
HOW YOU CAN HELP
The safeguarding workload and high SN caseloads can make dealing with mental health problems difficult, says Rhian. ‘SNs are not trained or meant to deal with severe mental health problems. We’re not experienced in this, and we are not resourced well enough.’ [But] we can do a risk assessment of level of need and refer on when serious and the young person is at risk of having suicidal thoughts.’
She adds that ‘there is still a lot of work SNs can do at the lower level’ of supporting young people’s mental health ‘at an earlier stage’. She explains: ‘It’s about going back to making every contact count and remembering that, even if you can’t solve all of a young person’s problems, making a positive interaction can be helpful because it can encourage them to seek help elsewhere. If they feel listened to and heard…it can encourage them to engage with another service and be open to that.’
Angie Yates, a SN at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, agrees. Talking of her trust’s service she says: ‘We have our own pathways to provide emotional and wellbeing support to young people who have a lower level of needs. SNs can do holistic health needs assessments for young people too, if we felt they had a higher level of need we can escalate this and get them the right kind of care.’
What else can SNs do? They can support young people with some of the self-care basics that help build and maintain emotional and physical resilience, suggests Rhian. Ask about sleep patterns, whether they are eating well and engaging in social activities, for example.
‘We can encourage young people to develop the skills to look after themselves and recognise what nourishes them and helps them and to move away from the things that don’t do this. They might remember some of this advice when they are struggling. Even remembering to eat breakfast or go outside more can help.’ Techniques such as mindfulness and basic breathing as part of a toolkit can also be of benefit, she says.
The anonymous texting service ChatHealth for young people to communicate with SNs can be an invaluable tool, too (see Community solutions – holistic and early, below).
COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS
HOLISTIC AND EARLY
Angie Yates, a school nurse (SN) at Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust, says the 0 to 19 team, which includes SNs, works closely with CAMHS and schools, addressing preventative mental health measures and identifying young people with low mood.
‘Our service ethos is to address any concerns we have including concerns around low mood,’ says Angie. ‘We take these seriously and liaise with our partners in schools as well as parents and work together to identify and support children with social, emotional and wellbeing needs.
‘We use an anonymous texting service called ChatHealth (available across the UK) where people aged 11 to 19 can text into a central inbox manned by SNs and share any problems anonymously. We can chat with them in real time and then signpost them to where they can reach out to for help. Sometimes we may meet them in schools, or they may need more specialist intervention – and we can arrange that with them with their consent.
Angie says the text service helps SNs run a ‘temperature check’ of the young person’s situation, particularly when there has been a major event or incident and follow-up on their concerns.
‘If someone expresses suicidal thoughts we can intervene and get them help – they would be taken very seriously,’ Angie notes.
‘In my experience, all NHS services have to prioritise and triage services – if people do have to wait to be seen, CAMHS will be in regular touch with a family,’ she adds.
WHAT NEEDS TO HAPPEN NOW?
In her foreword to the APPG report, chair MP Liz Twist said that government, health services and educational settings were missing critical chances to offer early support to young people. ‘The government must build on the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England (Department of Health and Social Care, 2023) and harness the 10-Year Plan (NHS, 2019) for actionable positive change when it comes to prevention, so that no young person experiences suicidal crisis.’
Among the report’s 15 recommendations are calls for the government to fund and implement a new early intervention system to support young people before they reach crisis point, including youth clubs and third sector support for self-harm.
A Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) spokesman says the government has promised to provide access to mental health support in every school in England. It is also committed to delivering the cross-sector Suicide Prevention Strategy for England (DHSC, 2023). This identifies groups such as children and young people who need targeted action at a national level.
‘There is a vicious cycle facing our most vulnerable and disadvantaged children in getting the support they need,’ says the spokesperson.
‘Every child should have access to support, which is why we are recruiting 8500 additional mental health workers who will be trained to support people at risk and reduce the lives lost to suicide. We are also launching Young Futures hubs across our communities and providing access to a specialist mental health professional in every school in England.’
AMONG THE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE CALLS FOR THE GOVERNMENT TO FUND A NEW SYSTEM OF EARLY INTERVENTION TO SUPPORT YOUNG PEOPLE BEFORE THEY REACH CRISIS POINT
Communities will also have open access mental health hubs for young people (aged 11-24), providing early intervention through drop-in services, the spokesperson adds. People of all ages in England experiencing a mental health crisis can speak to a trained NHS professional at any time, who can then help direct them to the right place, through the mental health option on NHS 111.
UK-WIDE ACTION
So how are the other nations working to support young people in this area? Scotland transformed the role of SNs in 2018 to focus on 10 areas, including emotional health and wellbeing, while more than £65 million has been invested in community mental health services for children since 2020.
A suicide prevention strategy was launched in Scotland in 2022, with a commitment to focus on the needs of children and young people (Scottish Government, 2022). A spokesperson said that ‘significant progress’ was being made on the 10-year suicide prevention plan while ‘tackling the inequalities that contribute to suicide’.
The ‘aim is for any child, young person or adult who has thoughts of taking their own life, or are affected by suicide, to get the help they need and feel a sense of hope’, the spokesperson adds.
‘We are providing £16 million a year to local authorities to ensure that all school pupils aged 10 and above have access to school counselling services. Authorities have confirmed that services are in place across Scotland.’
The Welsh Government (2025) recently announced a national suicide prevention plan and support for people for all ages, with a delivery plan for 2025 to 2028 and a £2 million investment in prevention based at Swansea University. One of the strategy’s main aims is to hear from people with lived experience, listen and learn, and develop a robust evidence base, as well as to remove any stigma.
Commenting on Northern Ireland’s recently updated suicide prevention strategy Protect Life 2 (Department of Health, 2024), a spokesperson says it includes a focus on younger people: suicide prevention training for teachers, youth workers and sports coaches; emotional resilience building; responses to critical incidents in schools; child-focused bereavement services; and a schools counselling service.
‘Subject to available funding, the new Action Plan will also commit to a new pilot programme to support young women who self-harm, and also delivery of a postvention service for under 18s who have been affected by suicide. The Self-harm Intervention Programme (Public Health Agency, 2024) is available for anyone aged 11 and over who has self-harmed.’
Clear recommendations on training, education, early support and investment have been made, with action promised by all governments in the UK. But how long it will all take, and whether it will make enough of a difference given that every life lost to suicide is a tragedy, remains to be seen. What’s clear is that it starts with taking young people seriously, not turning them away.
RISK FACTORS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
An analysis of census records (ONS, 2025) revealed that suicide rates were higher among young males than females and where the household head held formal qualifications such as a degree. Young males who had special educational needs (SEN) support without a statement had the highest risk of suicide compared with those who had no recorded SEN provision, with the risk in the former group around 1.5 times higher than in the latter. Suicide rates also varied by ethnicity, with those for children and young people of mixed or multiple ethnic groups found to be significantly higher (around 1.5 times) than for White ethnic groups.
RESOURCES
FOR CPs AND TO SIGNPOST YOUNG PEOPLE
- PAPYRUS HOPELINE247 webchat or call 0800 068 4141, text 88247 or email pat@papyrus-uk.org
- A free confidential helpline for anyone in the UK who is struggling to cope: Text SHOUT to 85258
- National Suicide Prevention helpline 0800 587 0800
- Support for young people with suicidal feelings
- PAPYRUS Spot the signs and conversation starters
- Samaritans in schools
SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES
To share your insight, get in touch with editor Aviva Attias aviva@communitypractitioner.co.uk
REFERENCES
All-Party Parliamentary Group on Suicide and Self-Harm Prevention. (2025) Inquiry into young people and suicide. See: media.samaritans.org/documents/APPG_young_people_and_suicide_report_2025_WEB.pdf (accessed 26 April 2025).
BBC. (2025) Children’s mental health target met for first time. See: bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c7vzrzd0v57o (accessed 26 April 2025).
Centre for Mental Health. (2025) Invest in childhood. See: centreformentalhealth.org.uk/publications/invest-in-childhood/ (accessed 26 April 2025).
Department of Health. (2024) Protect Life 2 – Suicide Prevention Strategy. See: health-ni.gov.uk/publications/protect-life-2-suicide-prevention-strategy (accessed 26 April 2025).
Department of Health and Social Care. (2023) Suicide prevention in England: 5-year cross-sector strategy. See: gov.uk/government/publications/suicide-prevention-strategy-for-england-2023-to-2028/suicide-prevention-in-england-5-year-cross-sector-strategy#executive-summary (accessed 26 April 2025).
NHS. (2019) The NHS Long Term Plan. See: longtermplan.nhs.uk/publication/nhs-long-term-plan/ (accessed 26 April 2025).
Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency. (2025) Northern Ireland Suicide Statistics, 2023. See: nisra.gov.uk/files/nisra/publications/Suicide%20Statistics%20for%20NI%20Report%20-%202023%20-%20FINAL_2.pdf (accessed 26 April 2025).
ONS. (2025) Risk factors for suicide in children and young people in England. See: ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/mentalhealth/articles/riskfactorsforsuicideinchildrenandyoungpeopleinengland/2025-02-27 (accessed 26 April 2025).
PAPYRUS. (2025) Latest statistics. See: https://www.papyrus-uk.org/latest-statistics/ (accessed 28 April 2025).
Public Health Agency. (2024) SHIP: self-harm intervention programme. Information for patients and families/carers. See: publichealth.hscni.net/publications/ship-self-harm-intervention-programme-information-patients-and-familiescarers (accessed 26 April 2025).
Samaritans. (2023a) Suicides in England. See: media.samaritans.org/documents/Samaritans_-_Suicide_Stats_England_2023.pdf (accessed 26 April 2025).
Samaritans. (2023b) Suicides in Scotland. See: media.samaritans.org/documents/Samaritans_-_Suicide_Stats_Scotland_2023.pdf (accessed 26 April 2025).
SAPHNA. (2024) Inaugural Survey of School Nursing: The Forgotten Frontline. See: saphna.co/about/inaugural-survey-of-school-nursing-the-forgotten-frontline/ (accessed 26 April 2025).
Scottish Government. (2022) Creating Hope Together; Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy 2022-2032. See: gov.scot/publications/creating-hope-together-scotlands-suicide-prevention-strategy-2022-2032/ (accessed 26 April 2025).
Welsh Government. (2025) New vision to reduce suicide deaths in Wales and improve support for people who self-harm. See:gov.wales/new-vision-reduce-suicide-deaths-wales-and-improve-support-people-who-self-harm (accessed 28 April 2025).
YoungMinds. (2025) 52% increase in young people waiting over a year for mental health. See: bit.ly/3YM2aaI (accessed 26 April 2025).
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