National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers
On the 17th September, Doctors in Distress along with NHS Practitioner Health, held the first ever National Suicide Memorial Day for Health and Care Workers.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 2500 healthcare workers have died by suicide since 2011. That’s 4 healthcare workers every week. These people were loved family members, friends and colleagues who made the tragic decision to take their own life.
This memorial day will be an annual event, on 17th September each year, to honour healthcare staff’s lives and remember them.
Ceremonies took place at the Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, Salford Royal Hospital, The Christie Foundation in Manchester and Aspen Medical Practice, Gloucester, which was the first GP Practice in the UK to plant a memorial tree. Healthcare workers from all over also held minute silences, including those at hospitals with existing memorial trees, lit candles or took time out of their day to reflect and remember colleagues who have died by suicide.
The main launch event was at NHS Practitioner Health’s headquarters in London, where a new memorial plaque dedicated to healthcare workers who have died by suicide, was unveiled by our Patron Professor Dame Clare Gerada.
At Doctors in Distress and NHS Practitioner Health, we are committed to remembering these people each year and continue to work to prevent further suicides in the profession.
On the 17th September every year, we ask you to take a moment in your day to remember all those lost to suicide. You can do this in your team, with your family or maybe you want to take a moment for yourself.
All healthcare workers deserve to be remembered.
If you would like to buy some of our Memorial pin badges, please send us the following details; how many you would like to order (minimum order 10) and where they need to be sent. Badges cost £5 each and all the proceeds go to our charity to support the mental health of healthcare workers. To order some, email contact@doctors-in-distress.org.uk
Our National Memorial Tree Campaign, in association with our Patron, BAFTA winner and former NHS doctor Adam Kay, was launched to remember those staff who have taken their own lives. The hope is that every hospital and primary care setting will plant a tree with a plaque at their grounds to honour staff lost to suicide.
Many trees have already been planted across the UK in memory of staff. If you want to find out more, or plant a tree at your place of work, please visit our page here.