A new resource to support adults at risk of self‑harm or suicide- with over 6,000 lives lost to suicide in England and Wales in 2024 - will be unveiled on 19 May at The University of Manchester's Whitworth Art Gallery.
The launch event introduces Jay's Personalised Safety Planning Toolkit, a co‑designed set of materials created with researchers, people with personal experience of suicide and self-harm, and healthcare professionals.
Inspired by the family of Jaymie Mart, known as Jay, who died by suicide in 2012 at the age of 32, the toolkit -which was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) - offers clear, practical guidance to help adults create and review personalised safety plans.
Jay's mother Paula's experiences have formed a key part of research looking at how better to support people at times of acute mental crisis and prevent deaths from suicide.
She said: "The toolkit helps as a guide in understanding and setting up an individualised safety plan for people in difficult times. They can help to change a mindset during times of crisis, that will hopefully keep them safe until they can get help, if needed, from family, friends or mental health professionals."
Safety plans are structured tools that support people experiencing self‑harm or suicidal thoughts by helping them identify strategies to stay safe during a crisis.
The resource is designed for families, friends, wider support networks, individuals themselves, and health and social care professionals.
The event is open to anyone interested in suicide prevention and safety planning, including practitioners, people who use safety plans, and those who support them.
The free full‑day programme runs from 9:30am to 3:30pm at the Whitworth Art Gallery on Oxford Road in Manchester.
The day features interactive sessions and workshops designed to introduce the toolkit and demonstrate how it can be used in real‑world settings, and includes a live performance about safety plans for suicide, from an theatre-arts company run by people with learning difficulties.
The event aims to strengthen community understanding of personalised safety planning and improve access to supportive, evidence‑based resources.
Nav Kapur, Professor of Psychiatry and Population Health at the University of Manchester is also Mental Health Theme co-lead at the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration
He said: "Safety Plans can be a vital component of mental health care but it's really important they meaningfully involve the person themselves.
"I am delighted to be part of this important event which will have co-production at its heart"
- The toolkit was funded by the NIHR Research for Patient Benefit programme, and supported by the NIHR Greater Manchester Patient Safety Research Collaboration, and NIHR Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria. The research is a collaboration between the University of Manchester, Northumbria University, Newcastle, and Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust. The views expressed are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the NIHR GM PSRC, NIHR ARC North East and North Cumbria, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care.
