Suicide
We believe that no death by suicide should be regarded as either acceptable or inevitable.
In the past decade, Scotland has made real progress in addressing this hugely important issue. Between 2002 and 2006 and 2013 to 2017, the rate of death by suicide in Scotland fell by 20%.
Our vision is of a Scotland where suicide is preventable and where help and support is available to anyone contemplating suicide and to those who have lost a loved one to suicide.
We published our Suicide Prevention Action Plan in 2018 which sets out a target to further reduce the rate of suicide by 20% by 2022 (from a 2017 baseline). This builds on our 2013-2016 Suicide Prevention Strategy.
We formed the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group in November 2018 to take forward the key actions identified in the plan.
More information about suicide prevention is available on the NHS Health Scotland website.