Tham et al, 2023 

In this study we aimed to examine the characteristics and recent experiences of psychiatric patients who migrated to the UK and who died by suicide between 2011 and 2019.

We identified 593 psychiatric patients who had migrated to the UK in the previous 5 years, and 48 who were seeking permission to stay in the UK. Compared to non-migrants, a higher proportion of recent migrants died within 3 months of discharge from psychiatric in-patient care. A higher proportion of patients seeking to remain had a diagnosis of schizophrenia and other delusional disorders and more had experienced recent adverse life events compared to non-migrants. However, the long-term risk of suicide for both migrant groups was often viewed as low by clinicians.

We recommend that mental health services consider the broad range of stressors migrants may experience and adopt a multi-agency approach to improve access to support to meet their needs. 

Read the full paper:

• Suicide among psychiatric patients who migrated to the UK: a national clinical survey (EClinMed)

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