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Resources and Contacts
Throughout these pages we have identified a range of resources and guides to support you if you are feeling suicidal yourself or want to talk to someone about their own feelings and offer help.
Some resources are aimed at the individual and some at team or organisational level.
If you are aware of additional resources it would be helpful to signpost here, please do let us know.
Contents
Need immediate help?
If you’re feeling like you want to end your life, it’s important to tell someone. Help and support is available right now if you need it and you do not have to struggle with difficult feelings alone.
Crisis intervention
Emergency help
If someone is at immediate risk: call 999 or go to your nearest emergency department.
SHOUT
For 24/7 support from a trained volunteer.
If you need support after hours you can text NHSPH to 85258.
Samaritans
Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours.
National Suicide Prevention Helpline UK
Open every day from 6pm until midnight, offering a safe haven for anyone who needs someone to talk to.
Papyrus
HOPELINE247
If you are having thoughts of suicide or are concerned for a young person who might be you can contact HOPELINE247 for confidential support and practical advice.
Help with ongoing feelings of hopelessness or suicidal thoughts
Many people think about suicide at some point in their lives, but if you are having ongoing thoughts, or feelings that are becoming overwhelming or distressing it is really important to talk to someone. You may have depression, be feeling burnt out or feel like you have problems with no solution on the horizon. Seeking help from a mental health professional can help you get the support and treatment you need.
View resources
Your GP
Your GP practice can offer you an urgent appointment and refer you into a mental health team if appropriate.
NHS Talking Therapies
You can refer yourself into NHS Talking Therapies in England without the need to see your GP.
NHS Practitioner Health
If you are not able to access treatment on a confidential basis through the mainstream NHS routes, you can seek help through NHS Practitioner Health.
Making a safety plan
If you struggle with suicidal thoughts or are supporting someone else, it may help to make a safety plan to use if you need it. The Staying Safe website provides information on how to make a safety plan, including video tutorials and online templates to guide you through the process.
Peer support
It can often feel like you are alone and the only person experiencing these feelings, but many health and care professionals struggle daily with the pressures they face in their working lives. Connecting with colleagues through peer support networks can be valuable and many groups offer online and confidential support.
View resources
Doctors in Distress
This charity offers weekly online peer support for any staff facing mental health challenges. They are a safe and confidential space to share concerns and experiences.
Bereavement group
Support for relatives of a health or care worker lost to suicide.
Suicide prevention
Safety plans and planning for a crisis
Staying Safe
Use the Staying Safe website for step-by-step guidance and templates
Conversations around suicide
Rethink Mental Illness
Helping people severely affected by mental illness improve their lives.
Business Disability Forum
Having sensitive conversations.
Communication toolkits
Mental health and wellbeing support
There are a range of support options available to health and care professionals, including mental health, counselling, addiction support, regulatory guidance, financial assistance, and peer networks.
You are not alone.
Suicide bereavement support
Support for healthcare professionals
RCGP Sudden Bereavement Support Pilot
The RCGP, supported by NHS Practitioner Health and Canopi (add link) in Wales offers tailored support for primary care teams following the sudden loss of a colleague. Trained advisors offer free practical support for practices as they navigate such a difficult time alongside the need to continue to run a practice.
Practitioner Health
Services like Practitioner Health offer confidential mental health treatment for healthcare professionals and run a peer support group for relatives of a healthcare professional who has died by suicide.
Papyrus
Papyrus offers a debrief service for any professional who has had an experience with suicide or near suicide and would like support to talk it through with a trained professional.
Suicide support
SOBS - Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide
Support for adults who have lost someone to suicide.
Cruse Bereavement Support
Free, confidential support for anyone who is grieving.
Help is at Hand - Support After Suicide Partnership
Practical guides for people bereaved by suicide.
Includes:
- The inquest process
- Grief after suicide
- Supporting children
- Coping with anniversaries
- Finding the right words
Finding the Words - How to Talk About Suicide Bereavement
Advice and practical tools for supporting someone who has lost a loved one to suicide.
Included in: Help is at Hand and Support After Suicide Partnership resources
Hope Again - Cruse for Young People
Support and stories for young people grieving a loss.
Winston’s Wish
Support for bereaved children, young people, families, and professionals.
Suicide Bereavement UK
Key resources:
- Immediate Support
- Postvention
- Educational Materials
AtaLoss
Providing all the information UK bereaved people need in one place for holistic support and wellbeing.
Additional resources
CIPD: Responding to Suicide in the Workplace
Guidance for employers and HR teams.
Samaritans Postvention Toolkit for Paramedics
Support and guidance for ambulance service staff.
Business in the Community: Suicide Postvention for Employers
A toolkit to help employers respond compassionately and responsibly.
Resources for managers and leaders
See also Postvention support for health and care professionals
- NHS England - Working together to prevent suicide in the NHS workforce
- Mental health in the workplace
- Mind - Helping your organisation prevent suicide
- Remembrance National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers
- PABBS Suicide Postvention Training. Evidence-based training for healthcare professionals following a patient suicide.
- Business in the Community: Suicide Postvention for Employers. A toolkit to help employers respond compassionately and responsibly.
- Derbyshire Suicide Prevention Toolkit. Offers support and guidance on suicide bereavement for teams and individuals.
- CIPD Postvention Guide: Responding to Suicide in the Workplace. Guidance for employers and HR teams.
- Guidance for Trainee Doctors. Sudden death guidance specifically for doctors in training.
Inquests and investigations
- Guidance on Attending a Coroner’s Inquest
- Guide to inquests into patient care following a death
- Coroners’ Inquests - Workforce, training and education
- Guidance on coroner's inquests for healthcare professionals
- Inquests and fatal accident inquiries
- Writing a report for the coroner
- Coroners' Inquests - Workforce, training and education
Contact
NHS Practitioner Health
Riverside Medical Centre
Hobart House
St George Wharf
London
SW8 2JB
Telephone: 0300 0303 300
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