Betterments in NHS mental health care in England may have assisted to decrease suicide rates

Increasing specialist community services such as crisis resolution, assisting to make the transition to adult services smoother for young persons, and implementing clinical guidelines are just few of the service changes that are linked to significantly decreased suicide rates in mental health services in England over the last 16 years, in accordance to new research published in The Lancet Psychiatryjournal.

The study by researchers at the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Homicide by People with Mental Illness at the University Manchester also finds that suicide amounts were higher in mental health trusts with higher levels of staff turnover, recommending that organizational factors may be equally important in preventing suicide.

Previous studies examining which aspects of mental health service provision are most effective in preventing suicide are scarce, have been inconsistent in their findings, and limited in scope. This is the 1^st study to look at the impact of particular mental health service improvements in a range of organizational contexts, on suicide rates.