The stigma around suicide and mental health remains so entrenched that many islanders have died in recent years without ever having reached out for help, new data has shown – with older men most likely to feel ostracised when they are vulnerable.
Just 51% of those who died by suicide between 2019 and 2022 were in contact with mental health services – one of several new findings that have prompted renewed calls to overhaul the island’s approach to crisis care and support.
A new five-year plan by Public Health, Connected in Hope: A Strategy for Suicide Prevention in Jersey 2025-29, acknowledges that certain groups – including older men, Portuguese islanders, construction workers, LGBTQ+ people and young women – are at higher risk, yet many often feel unable to speak out.
Though the strategy sets out 15 key actions – from school resources and better staff training to improved “postvention” support – no additional government funding has been set aside to deliver its first year.
Instead, officials say the plan’s early rollout will rely on “cost-neutral” activity.
How the strategy came about
Jersey’s suicide prevention strategy was commissioned after the result of a serious case review by Dr Paul Myatt in 2022 prompted by an uptick in deaths by suicide in 2022, to 14 from six a year earlier.
The damning report criticised the island’s mental health provision when it comes to suicide, and Dr Myatt’s 12 recommendations included the need for an updated suicide prevention policy and appropriate training for staff.
He suggested that “serious consideration” should be given to the idea of introducing mandatory training for all staff working in healthcare, as is required by law in the UK.
Three years on, the most recent suicide prevention strategy raises almost identical concerns.
Stakeholders highlighted the need for increased training in suicide prevention and support for health and social care staff, and clinical staff said that the training currently offered was of “limited value”.
The strategy recommended the implementation of recorded and monitored suicide prevention training for health and social care staff in Jersey, so that they are aware of the risk factors for suicide and how they may contribute to risk reduction.
The groups most at risk
The strategy also raised concerns about middle-aged men being at increased risk of suicide in the island.
Between 2012 and 2021 in Jersey, 68% of all suicides involved men – meaning men were 2.1 times more likely than women to take their own lives.
In 2025, so far at least three people – all middle-aged men – have ended their own lives.
The stigma associated with suicidal thoughts and mental health difficulties was referenced multiple times by those who contributed to the development of the strategy.
Contributors referenced the “immense challenges” in speaking about suicide, often originating from not being taken seriously or a lack of perceived worth.
Stigma was felt to be “greatest among the older generation, men, the Portuguese community, and those employed in the building trade, leading to ostracisation”, the report noted.
It was also revealed that showing concern for someone at risk of suicide was seen as challenging.
The report also identified a range of other suicide risk factors including identifying as LGBTQ+, domestic abuse, drug and alcohol use, bullying, financial difficulty, and lack of engagement with mental health services.
Just 51% of people who died or were suspected to have died by suicide between 2019 and 2022 had been in contact with mental health services.
Barriers to accessing mental health services
But stigma wasn’t the only barrier – the suicide prevention strategy revealed that “insufficient capacity, resulting in long waiting times”, was viewed as a “major barrier” to accessing mental health services in Jersey.
There were reports of difficulties with referral processes, and seeking private mental health care was not a viable alternative for many islanders.
“There was also a perception that primary care services were better equipped to assess physical health problems than mental health problems,” the strategy said.
“This was linked to a general lack of awareness of how best to treat someone who is suicidal and the struggles of some service users to articulate their situation.”
Elsewhere, the report suggests strengthening the control of medication like antidepressants. As Express revealed for the first time in January, prescriptions for antidepressants rose by around 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
A request made by Express under the Freedom of Information Law revealed an 18% rise in antidepressant prescriptions in community pharmacies, and a 23% increase in the Hospital pharmacy between 2019 and 2023.
It comes after Jersey’s Safeguarding Partnership Board also revealed a lack of communication between agencies and significant barriers to accessing services in 2023.
It criticised Jersey’s previous suicide prevention strategy for a failing in leadership and a lack of resources, and called for more training for the workforce in suicide care.
Health Minister Tom Binet described the new Suicide Prevention Strategy as “a clear, compassionate, and comprehensive approach to saving lives and supporting those affected by suicidal thoughts and behaviours”.
“Our approach is built on prevention, early intervention, and the provision of accessible mental health services,” he continued.
“By focusing on improving public awareness, reducing stigma, and ensuring individuals at risk receive the care and support they need, we aim to create a society where mental health is treated with the same urgency as physical health.”
Key priority actions
The 15 key priority actions outlined in the strategy are:
- Compile a directory of the wellbeing and mental health services available to those living in Jersey, with a focus on the remit and access arrangements of services
- Develop a compendium of apps/resources that support suicide prevention, to complement available mental health and wellbeing services and to ensure those at risk have easy access to evidence-based digital support
- Implement the use of a suicide screening tool with individuals who may be at risk of suicide within target populations, such as adult males and the socially isolated
- Develop the discharge planning process for mental health inpatients, to incorporate an evidence-informed approach with a focus on readiness and peer support
- Strengthen the control of medication, with a focus on prescribing practice, antidepressants, benzodiazepines and polypharmacy
- Produce a revised guide for those bereaved by suicide detailing the relevant processes, sources of support, and access arrangements
- Review the postvention offer in Jersey to ensure it meets the needs of those bereaved by suicide, including suicides outside of Jersey
- Strengthen the suicide prevention alliance in Jersey, and its links to suicide networks in other jurisdictions, as means of providing an effective forum for professional stakeholders to share and collaborate
- Design and deliver health promotion/awareness campaigns on suicide prevention and its risk factors, with an initial specific focus on adult males
- Develop a suicide and self-harm prevention package for education settings, with educational resources and universal, targeted, and individual preventative approaches, focusing on secondary education and young females
- Develop resources for employers to support suicide prevention in the workplace, through a focus on suicide prevention in the collaborative development of a mental health workplace toolkit
- Work collaboratively with media outlets to ensure the reporting of suicide remains sensitive and prevention-focused, by raising awareness, reducing stigma and increasing awareness of support available
- Work collaboratively across Government of Jersey departments and partner agencies to improve the availability, timeliness and quality of data collected on suicide, risk factors and near misses
- Implement recorded and monitored suicide prevention training for the wider health and social care workforce in Jersey, so that they are aware of the risk factors for suicide and how they may contribute to risk reduction
- Review the occupational health/wellbeing and support offers available to staff within Health and Care Jersey initially and to broader occupational groups, to ensure it meets the needs of staff – particularly those whose roles mean they regularly encounter emotionally challenging situations
You can read the full suicide prevention strategy online.