The Suicide Aware Practice scheme is a framework and set of resources to help primary care practices consider how they can be more suicide aware, put in place important measures to prevent deaths by suicide and support patients and staff in the very tragic event of a death by suspected suicide.

A Suicide Aware Practice is one where:

• Everyone in the GP practice has the right training and resources to reduce the risk of suicide and support patients in crisis. 
• Patients are able to get the help they need when they are in a crisis, and both the patient and their family members will be listened to.
• Patients receive compassionate and empathetic care.
• Practices have effective processes in place to provide people in crisis with the support they need.
• Practices are committed to preventing deaths by suicide through their care.
• Practices have policies and procedures for postvention support in place.

The suicide aware practice scheme has been developed in collaboration with people with living experience of suicide, both survivors of suicide, and people bereaved by suicide. The work was supported by Voices, which is a collective of people from Hampshire and the Isle of Wight who have living experience of suicide, and their input has been invaluable to the project. Focus groups and interviews were held with people with living experience of suicide, many of whom have been sadly bereaved by suicide.

We are exceptionally grateful for all the living experience feedback we received and have tried to incorporate this feedback throughout the project. We believe we have a responsibility to truly listen to the messages we have heard and to try to make real change from what we have learned.

We are also grateful to Andover Mind, Havant and East Hants Mind, Solent Mind and Isorropia for their support and for providing the opportunity for focus group sessions.

There were six core principles about suicide prevention in Primary Care highlighted in the living experience feedback that have shaped the framework. These are:

1. Compassionate care
2. Improved Accessibility to care
3. Continuity of care
4. Listening to family and friends
5. Training for staff
6. Providing appropriate support

In using these core principles, the aims of the Suicide Aware Practice Scheme are:

a) To make Primary Care a robust, safe and effective place for patients to present to when having thoughts about suicide and self-harm

b) To improve the skills of Primary Care staff to recognise people having thoughts about suicide and self-harm and to provide effective support to this population

c) To ensure Primary Care is well placed to provide postvention support to both patients and staff members in the event of a suspected suicide

The following checklist gives an overview of the procedures that a GP practice should evidence in order to help demonstrate they are Suicide Aware. Suicide Aware Champions should monitor this checklist and ensure it is kept up to date on an annual basis. Download a Word version of this checklist here.

For further information on how to demonstrate each aspect, please use the relevant links to the framework.

Lived Experience Core Principle being demonstrated

Compassionate Care

• Patients receive compassionate and empathetic care.
• Patients receive individualised care.

Improved Accessibility to Primary Care Services

• Suicide Aware Practice information is on the Practice website.
• Appropriate changes to increase access to patients experiencing mental health crisis are in place (e.g. receptionist telephone handling).
• Posters promoting the practice being suicide aware are displayed in waiting rooms and clinical areas.

Continuity of care

• Patients are supported to see the same member of staff.
• GP Practice has shared bypass telephone numbers with secondary care and emergency services to facilitate prompt and effective communication between teams.

Listening to Family and Friends

• Staff are aware of, and have had training in the implementation of SHARE guidelines.

Training for staff

• All clinical staff have appropriate Suicide Aware training.
• All non-clinical staff have appropriate Suicide Aware training.
• Suicide Awareness training is embedded into inductions for new staff.
• Suicide Prevention Resource Hub is accessible to all staff members.
• Clinical staff consider safe prescribing of medications to patients with a past and current history of suicidal thoughts and/or self-harm.

Appropriate Support provided for patients

• Clinical staff are appropriately trained in developing suicide safety plans with patients – ensuring all patients experiencing suicidal thoughts have a safety plan in place.
• The practice has at least two Suicide Prevention Champions, one clinical, one non-clinical.

Postvention Support 

• The practice has a postvention protocol in place in the event of a death by suicide to support both the registered patients that are bereaved and staff members that may be affected as a result of a death by suicide.

All the resources and training on this website are available for use by any health staff in primary care to help support patients and colleagues in the prevention of suicide, and in the sad event of a death by suicide.

However, a GP surgery can become a “Suicide Aware Practice” by reading the framework and by completing the checklist that accompanies the framework. 

The most important part of completing the framework is making sure all clinical and non-clinical staff in a GP practice complete the appropriate training. A training package for both clinical and non-clinical staff has been developed as part of this scheme. 

In addition, a surgery should appoint at least two suicide prevention champions to ensure the scheme is advocated and implemented appropriately. 

Being a Suicide Aware Practice is about being active in the prevention of suicide. Part of this is patients being aware that a GP Practice is a safe and robust place for them to present to in the event of a crisis. Posters and resources in the surgery promoting suicide prevention, and information on practice websites is key to ensuring patients get this message.