Rethink Mental Illness responds to latest ONS suicide figures

Today the Office of National Statistics (ONS) published data on deaths in the UK in 2017 that were registered as suicides.

There were 5,821 suicides registered in the UK in 2017, down from 5,965 in 2016. 

Lucy Shonegevel, head of health influencing at Rethink Mental Illness said:

“While any fall in the number of suicides offers hope, the numbers are still worryingly high overall, and behind each number is a real person. The reasons for suicide are complex and as a country we could be doing a lot more to prevent people from reaching crisis point like this. While it’s true that it’s partly about needing to open up, talk and reach out for help, far too often we at Rethink Mental Illness are hearing from people who can’t access the care and support they desperately need when they do seek it. We need to see funding prioritised for timely and high quality support close to home that is put in place as soon as someone first asks for help.”

For the full statistics, please see the ONS website.

For more information contact the Rethink Mental Illness media team on 0207 840 3138 or media@rethink.org