NCISH Suicide Prevention COVID-19 support update – 20th April

The National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health (NCISH) send regular updates on COVID-19 Support. See below some useful new publications sent on 20th April 2021:

• The latest 5th progress report on the suicide prevention strategy for England covers progress in suicide prevention pre-pandemic, the impact of COVID and future priorities;

• Whilst self-harm does not appear to have risen during the pandemic, a study published in the Journal of Psychiatric Research examines COVID-related factors reported during assessment following self-harm to two hospital sites in the first lockdown (March 23rd to May 17th 2020). The most frequent reported factors were mental health issues, cessation or reduction of services, isolation and loneliness, reduced contact with support network, and disruption to normal routine. Often these factors were inter-connected;

• An NCISH study published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, lead author our Prof Louis Appleby and co-authored by Nicola Richards, Dr Saied Ibrahim, Dr Pauline Turnbull, Cathryn Rodway and Prof Nav Kapur. Using data from real time surveillance (RTS) systems in areas covering a total population of around 13 million, suicide rates in England did not rise following the first national lockdown in 2020 despite higher levels of greater distress. It is vital to note these are early figures and there may be increases in suicides in some populations or geographical areas. There is still concern about the longer-term effects of the pandemic, particularly economic stresses