A Labour government would reverse the rise in the number of deaths from suicide as part of a health plan to replace pain and anxiety with a “hope of a renewed NHS”, Keir Starmer will pledge.
In a speech on Monday, the Labour leader will say his plan for reforming the NHS will focus on the biggest causes of death in the UK including suicide.
He will point to coroners’ statistics showing that deaths from suicides have been rising since 2008, and reached a record high last year in England and Wales. If the party takes power Labour will reverse this rise within five years, Starmer will say.
A segment of his speech previewed by the party says: “Suicide is the biggest killer of young lives in this country. The biggest killer. That statistic should haunt us. And the rate is going up. Our mission must be and will be to get it down.”
Labour has not provided details on how it proposes to meet this pledge other than an aspiration to shift from “sickness to prevention”.
But setting out his vision for the future of the health service, Starmer will say it is based on “a mission that can lift the anxiety, the pain, the fear faced by millions of families across the country and replace it with hope of a renewed NHS”.
Experts and campaigners gave the suicide pledge a cautious welcome, but urged any future Labour government to focus on tackling the wider societal causes of mental illness including poverty and inequality.
Dr Adrian James, the president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, said: “The focus on preventing mental illness is the right approach. Mental illness can in many cases be prevented with early intervention and by tackling root causes including inequality, racism and abuse.
“A long-term whole of government plan to improve outcomes for people with mental illness is urgently needed. Adults with severe mental illness are almost five times more likely to die prematurely than the rest of the population with two out of three deaths from preventable illnesses.”
Simon Blake, the chief executive of Mental Health First Aid England, said a determined focus on improving mental health and preventing suicide had “never been more important”.
He said: “Reducing the unacceptably high numbers of people that die by suicide requires strong political will and a multifaceted approach which tackles the wider factors that influence mental health such as poverty, housing, discrimination including racism, education and employment.”
Rishi Sunak is reportedly preparing to announce plans to allow patients to choose to receive treatment in private hospitals via the NHS app. The move is aimed at cutting the record 7.3 million-person waiting list, according to the Times.
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Starmer will also pledge to reduce deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter within 10 years. And he will say Labour will meet all cancer targets and reduce waiting lists.
He will say: “The next Labour government will deliver an NHS that is there when you need it. No backsliding, no excuses. We will meet these standards again. We will get the NHS back on its feet.”
Labour remains coy on how this will be financed. Asked on Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday whether the party was looking to raise taxes, the shadow health minister, Liz Kendall, said: “No.”
Pressed on the issue, she added: “Whilst extra investment is essential, what I would argue here is reform is absolutely part of it too.”
In the UK and Ireland, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123, or email jo@samaritans.org or jo@samaritans.ie. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. Other international helplines can be found at befrienders.org.
