How could the 10 Year Health Plan support suicide prevention?

In this insights report we asked people with lived experience of suicide how the 10 Year Health Plan can support suicide prevention. It was developed as part of our work with the Suicide Prevention Consortium.

We explored how Neighbourhood Health Centres and the expansion of digital health services could be developed to support people at risk or with experience of suicidality. Through a series of workshops that took place through January and February 2026, a number key themes emerged. These included:

The need to create safe spaces. This is especially important when supporting people with experience of suicidal thoughts or feelings, and people bereaved by suicide.

Ensuring support is accessible and inclusive. New services should reduce health inequalities, and be designed with the needs of marginalised groups in mind.

Lived experience must shape design and development. Working with communities and service users in the design and development of services. Additionally ongoing review is essential – listening to and acting on feedback for continual improvement.

Importance of prioritising suicide prevention. Thinking carefully about how to support people to manage their mental and emotional health on a day-to-day basis. Equally, how to improve access to support when people are in crisis.

Collaborative and joined up care is essential: ensuring integration of services and holistic, coordinated, person-centred care.

Compassion and empowerment: prioritising human connection and valuing care and kindness. Supporting choice and control including through transparency and personalisation. Building trust through honest communications.

As work to implement the 10 Year Health Plan gets underway, we must make sure these are developed in collaboration with, and drawing on the insights of, those most affected by suicide.