Researchers in the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH), based in our Division of Psychology and Mental Health are working with the National Health and Safety Executive (NHSE), Public Health England (PHE) and other academics to set up a national academic response to suicide prevention and COVID-19.

As part of this, the NCISH team will be working with local areas to support their pandemic-related suicide prevention. This is an expansion of its support role within NHSE’s national suicide prevention quality improvement programme, for which the NCISH team won a Making a Difference Award in 2019.

The team’s COVID-19 support is now available nationally – to all of the NHS STPs (Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships) and Mental Health Trusts in England – providing quality assured information and evidence as it arises; hosting virtual clinics and webinars to discuss and advise on pandemic-related suicide prevention concerns and facilitating shared learning by linking services together.

In addition, and as part of the University’s response, Professors Louis Appleby and Nav Kapur are contributors to a research paper entitled Suicide risk and prevention during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has been published recently in the Lancet.

Professor Appleby is Director of NCISH and leads the National Suicide Prevention Strategy for England; and Professor Kapur is NCISH Head of Research and also leads the suicide work programme of the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness.

You can read the full Lancet paper here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(20)30171-1/fulltext.