After someone has attempted suicide

You do not need to settle every question today. Start with the practical arrangements and who to contact.

• Getting home: check transport, keys and who will be there.
• Medicines and instructions: check they have what was prescribed and know whom to ask about it.
• The next contact: write down who will call or see them, when, and the number to use if that does not happen.
• Help you can offer: say what you can actually do. Tell staff if there is nobody available to provide the care they are assuming.

Already home with no clear plan? Contact the service that discharged them or their GP and explain what is missing. For a new safety concern, seek urgent help.

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After A&E or a general hospital

If they decline assessment or follow-up, tell the treating team and ask what should happen next. An adult usually needs to consent; you cannot force them to attend. Professionals must consider any legal basis for care without consent. Consent and refusing help. Seek urgent advice if safety is worsening, even if they do not agree to go.

Before discharge from a general hospital, NICE says there should be a psychosocial assessment of their mental health and circumstances, and a plan for further care. Ask who will make the next contact. Going home does not necessarily mean a crisis team will visit.

NICE recommends initial aftercare within 48 hours of the psychosocial assessment if there are ongoing safety concerns after self-harm. This includes suicide attempts. Ask the assessing team or GP what has been arranged.

After a mental-health ward

In England, discharge guidance for acute mental-health inpatient care says follow-up should happen within 72 hours of discharge. The appointment should be arranged before they leave. The coming-home guide covers the wider plan and aftercare rights.

If the plan is missing or nothing happens

Call the service named on their paperwork. If there is no contact, try the discharging service or their GP. Ask: “Who is responsible for their follow-up, and when will it happen?”

These timings are not a single UK-wide promise. Ask services to confirm the arrangements where they live. If safety is worsening, use urgent help for their UK nation rather than waiting for a deadline.

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Let them decide how much they want to say about the attempt. You can offer company without asking them to explain what happened.

You can still ask about their safety

If you are worried, ask directly: “Are you thinking about suicide now?” You do not need to wait until they are ready to discuss the attempt. Listen to the answer and take it seriously. Asking about suicide does not put the idea in their head.

Help with asking about suicide and what to do next.

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Call 999 or go to A&E if they have taken an overdose, seriously injured themselves, are about to act, or you cannot keep anyone safe. Stay with them if you can do so safely.

If help is urgent but there is no immediate danger, use the urgent number on their care plan, if they have one. If you do not know their team or cannot reach it, use urgent mental-health help for their UK nation. You can ask for advice as a friend or relative.

Tell the service about the recent attempt, what has changed and why you are worried now. If you cannot provide the support needed, say so. A hospital discharge or a future appointment is not a reason to wait when their safety has changed.

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Ask about making or reviewing a safety plan with them and the professional supporting them. It should be something they can use when thoughts of suicide return.

• What do they notice when things are getting worse?
• What helps them through that moment?
• Who can they contact, including out of hours?
• What could be put away or made harder to access because they might use it to harm themselves?

Agree practical changes together. For medicines, ask the prescriber or pharmacist about safe storage and quantities supplied, while keeping prescribed treatment available as agreed.

Samaritans has a safety-plan template. Keep contact numbers where they can find them. If they are at immediate risk, get help now; completing a plan can wait.

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Agree how you will stay in touch and what to do if either of you becomes worried. Make this part of the safety plan, with professional advice about the support they need.

Be clear about when you can be available. Include other trusted people, with their agreement, so one person is not the only contact.

Keep offering ordinary company or practical help: a meal, a lift to an appointment or time together. Ask what would help, and leave room for them to decline.

If you feel they cannot safely be left alone, ask for urgent professional help. Do not try to cover an unsafe gap in care by staying awake indefinitely.

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Ask the treating team for help explaining what has happened. Use honest words suited to the child’s age and what they already know, without describing how the attempt happened.

• Let them ask questions, and say when you do not know an answer.
• Reassure them that it is not their fault. Keeping the adult safe is not their job.
• Explain who will look after them and which trusted adult they can talk to.

Try to keep familiar routines and time with friends. If they saw what happened, are frightened or seem to be struggling, speak to their GP or a trusted member of school staff about support. Do not ask them to watch the person or keep worrying things secret.

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Shock, anger and guilt can sit alongside relief. You may replay what happened or struggle to sleep. You need somewhere to talk about this too.

Speak to your own GP if you are struggling, especially with sleep, distressing memories or daily life. You can call Samaritans on 116 123 if you are worried about another person. Free to call. 24 hours, every day.

Ask someone you trust for specific help, such as bringing food or doing a school run. If caring arrangements are leaving you unable to rest, tell the service involved and ask what needs to change.

Support for you tonight · Talk to other friends and family

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