Suicide Prevention: Revising National Suicide Prevention Strategies in Response to Covid-19

The Department of Health and Social Care published the fifth Suicide Prevention Strategy progress report for England on the 27^{th of} March 2021. This report details the steps taken to reduce deaths by suicide since the last report, which was published in January 2019.

The report sets out the data and evidence we have on suicide and self-harm, the progress made against existing commitments designed to prevent suicides and self-harm and further actions for the government and its agencies, particularly in the context of COVID-19.

The Rt Hon Nadine Dories MP was Minister of State for Patient Safety, Suicide Prevention and Mental Health at the Department of Health and Social Care. Nadine was appointed Minister of State at the Department of Health and Social Care in May 2020, having been promoted from Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the department. She was elected as the Conservative MP for Mid Bedfordshire in May 2005. She is now the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Nadine was previously an adviser to the former Shadow Home Secretary and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Oliver Letwin MP. She trained as a nurse at Warrington General Hospital, then went on to set up her own business and later became a director at BUPA.

In this session from the Suicide Prevention 2021 conference, Nadine discussed how the Department of Health and Social Care are revising national suicide prevention strategies in response to Covid-19.