ABSTRACT
Although suicide as a public health problem is by no means exclusive to contemporary society,2,3 epidemiological evidence indicates alarming rises in rates during the last 50 years.4 As a result, public and mental health policy documents reflect the growing public concern. In the UK, the documents Health of the nation,5 Modernising mental health services: safe, sound and supportive6 and the National service framework for mental health7 each drew attention to the increased risk of suicide in people with mental health problems, and the need for services to
address this. Following these, the production of a National suicide prevention strategy for England8 indicated six goals, the first of which was to reduce risk in key high-risk groups. Furthermore, it is noteworthy that the first of the high-risk groups to be identified included people who are currently, or have recently been, in contact with mental health services.
