Summary of Recommendations

This page summarises the recommendations by sector from our Facts for Action series associated with the new Suicide Prevention Resource Map. These will be extended alongside the ongoing development of Facts for Action.

General

  • Review the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Safety in Mental Health's (NCISH) report "10 ways to improve safety" in mental health and primary care services, and measure the extent to which the recommendations of clinical care have been met. 
  • Review progress against and implement necessary changes to community mental health services in line with agreed pathways, NICE guidance and long-term plan ambitions.
  • Undertake a local assessment of potential increase in demand for mental health services as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and routinely monitor referral trends against this

Children and young people

  • Routinely review access to Children and Young People's Mental Health Services (CYPMHS) against estimated prevalence of diagnosable mental health problems in children and young people for the population services
  • Routinely review CYPMHS waiting times data against the proposed four week standard outlined in the NHS Long Term Plan
  • Routinely review progress against the extent to which the recommendations from the Care Quality Commission’s review of mental health services for children and young people have been implemented
  • Capitalise on the opportunities afforded by the COVID-19 pandemic to embed the use of digital technologies in the provision of mental health services for children and young people taking into account some of the potential challenges of such an approach
  • Ensure that robust pathways and processes are in place to support the transition of children and young people into adult services.
  • Use an evidence-based preventative approach which puts emphasis on introducing effective interventions early on and incorporating them through children’s lives, with a broader focus on wider issues around children’s development and psychological wellbeing
  • Create community peer support structures which focus upon building community resilience, benefiting children and young people and their families
  • Include trained assessors in school settings to be able to identify and understand early social and emotional needs of individual young people prior to implementing interventions. Additionally, the inclusion of applied psychologists such as Clinical and Educational Psychologists would be the most appropriate trained professionals to undertake leadership of preventative and reactive measures
  • Build a family-focused community-based approach is also needed in order to address increasing levels of family conflict and relationship breakdown
  • Develop a cross-departmental strategy to lead effective change within a population based approach across schools and families, bringing together the Department for Health and Social Care (and the Department for Education), Department for Work and Pensions and Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government

Adults

  • Undertake analysis of the Early Intervention in Psychosis service benchmarking data presented within the ZSA Suicide Prevention Resource Map to understand your comparative position and utilise this intelligence to develop local quality improvement programmes.
  • Undertake a study to review likely population-level need informed by the epidemiological approach described by Kirkbride et al. (2017), drawing on predictive data published within the Psymaptic tool and utilise to underpin future commissioning and service-developments for people experiencing first episode of psychosis.
  • Review trust / service results from the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis and implement relevant recommendations and implement a quality improvement programme
  • Continue to look for opportunities to improve access NHS Talking Therapies (previously named IAPT)*  particularly where access rates are significantly below the national access rate standard and in line with the NHS Long Term Plan ambitions.
  • Continue to work on driving improvements in recovery rates and reliable improvement for those completing treatment by the NHS Talking Therapies services.
  • Explore the opportunities for digital technologies to enhance both access to and outcomes of the NHS Talking Therapies service.
  • Ensure that Mental Health Providers minimise Out of Area Placements in inpatient services, through investment in local rehabilitation services and investment into community services to prevent re-admission and reduction of detentions.
  • Ensure that Mental Health Providers follow the NHS Get It Right First Time Programme to improve treatment pathways and improve outcomes of inpatient care.
  • Mental health inpatient services and community teams need to work proactively and collaboratively throughout the patient’s admission and in planning for their discharge.

*Improving Access to Psychological Therapy (IAPT) services are being renamed in 2023 as NHS Talking Therapies, for anxiety and depression. For more information, visit the NHS England website.

  • Review and implement relevant recommendations from the National Clinical Audit of Psychosis for England and Wales.
  • Make data publicly available to show progress against NHS Long Term Plan mental health ambitions in a timely and accessible way to enable transparency and accountability.