Suicide in NHS staff: a national data collection to inform prevention

On this page:

• Establishing a national data collection on NHS staff who die by suicide
• Resources and support
• Existing evidence

Establishing a national data collection on NHS staff who die by suicide

We have been commissioned by NHS England to establish a prospective data collection on suicide by NHS staff. By learning from these tragic deaths, our aim is to improve safety and wellbeing for people working within the NHS, and prevent future deaths.

Some health service staff may be at an increased risk of suicide, and staff wellbeing is a priority in the context of sustained and growing pressures.

This is a national data collection that gathers information on doctors, nurses and allied health professionals who may have died by suicide whilst employed by an NHS Trust. This information is gathered via an online questionnaire, to be completed by a member of human resources within the Trust or a colleague with employee wellbeing and workforce responsibilities.

This data collection runs from January 2024 until April 2026.

More information

• Information sheet for staff completing a questionnaire (PDF)
• Questionnaire
• Frequently asked questions (PDF)
• Standard Operating Procedure for this data collection (PDF)

Procedure for this data collection

Alternative text version:

Step 1: NCISH contacts the Chief Executive at the Trust to identify a key point of contact in HR or Employee wellbeing to assist with this data collection.

Step 2: NCISH provide the key contacts with information about the NHS staff suicide data collection, what information will be requested and how to complete a questionnaire.

Step 3: NCISH seek Information Governance approvals for the data collection.

Step 4: Key contacts complete an online questionnaire when notified of a death by suspected suicide of a doctor, nurse or allied health professional in their Trust between January 2024 and April 2026.

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Resources and support

We understand that thinking and talking about suicide is difficult and can be distressing. If you are completing a questionnaire and become distressed, we encourage you to seek support. More information: Support resources (PDF).

Below are resources that you may find helpful in supporting your teams following the loss of a colleague to suicide.

We also have an infographic about this programme to display in your organisations: Suicide by NHS staff: a national data collection to inform prevention – dissemination infographic (PDF).

NHS employee suicide: a postvention toolkit to help manage the impact and provide support (PDF)

This toolkit is designed to help NHS organisations develop and implement a process to manage the impact of an employee suicide on colleagues.

It has been informed by the real experiences of colleagues across the NHS.

Postvention guidance: Supporting NHS staff after the death by suicide of a colleague (PDF)

This guidance has been developed by researchers at the University of Surrey with the input of NHS staff who have been affected by the death of a colleague by suicide.

NHS Employers: Suicide prevention and postvention

This resource provides information on the impact of suicide and how employers can best support their staff through preventative and postventative measures.

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Existing evidence 

• Suicide by nurses: an update report (2011 – 2022) 

This report describes findings from an analysis of suicide by nurses and is an update to our previous report on female nurses (PDF), published in 2020. Here we present information on both female and male nurses who died by suicide in the general population and those in contact with mental health services in the 12-month period before they died.  

• Suicide, self-harm and suicide ideation in nurses and midwives: A systematic review of prevalence, contributory factors and interventions

A review of studies conducted by researchers at the University of Oxford confirmed that nursing professionals, especially female nurses are at increased risk of suicide. Contributing factors included psychiatric disorders, substance misuse, physical health problems, occupational and interpersonal difficulties.  

• Workplace stress, common mental disorder and suicidal ideation in junior doctors  

A study conducted in Australia examined workplace stressors reported by junior doctors and identified variables associated with adverse mental health outcomes such as the perceived conflict between career path and personal life, demands of studying, fear around making mistakes and sleep deprivation.  

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