Following several years of decline, the number of suicides registered in England and Wales began to increase in 2018. Whenever a change in suicide rates occur, the reasons are complex and will rarely be because of one factor alone. Here, Ben Windsor-Shellard explains some of the possible explanations.
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In 2018, Dame Sally Davies, then Chief Medical Officer, called for an official index on England’s health. Her aim was to ensure that “health is recognised and treated as one of our nation’s primary assets…alongside GDP and the Measuring National Well-being programme.” As consultation on the proposed index gets under way, Greg Ceely explains the development work ONS has undertaken so far and what the provisional findings show.
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Today, NHS Digital – in collaboration with the Office for National Statistics, NatCen Social Research, University of Cambridge and University…
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Every year, organisations and communities come together on World Suicide Prevention Day to raise awareness of how we can create a society where fewer people reach the point where they feel suicide is their only option. Ben Windsor-Shellard from the ONS, along with Magdalena Tomaszewska and Mette Isaksen from Samaritans, reflect on the latest suicide figures and analysis of suicide rates by local area deprivation.
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New analysis highlights the pressures faced by parents during the coronavirus lockdown, due to taking on more childcare and homeschooling responsibilities. As we’ve found from many aspects of life under lockdown, not everyone’s experience is the same, but early results suggest these additional pressures have been affecting the work and overall wellbeing of some parents. Gueorguie Vassilev and Tracy Williams explain more.
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