World Suicide Prevention Day 2026
World Suicide Prevention Day falls on Thursday 10 September. This year, Samaritans’ campaign carries one clear message: ‘Suicide is not inevitable. You can interrupt someone’s suicidal thoughts. You could save a life.’
In a survey of people with lived experience of suicidal thoughts, Samaritans found:
- 60% said their suicidal thoughts had been interrupted by someone close to them — a friend or family member
- 14% said their thoughts had been interrupted by a stranger, or someone they didn’t know well
Small moments matter. One person in Samaritans’ campaign described a colleague noticing they seemed low and simply saying something — “it made my thoughts pause.” Another recalled a stranger speaking kindly to them at their lowest point.
Samaritans have put together practical guidance on what an interruption can look like, real examples from people who’ve experienced it, and support for anyone struggling themselves right now.
Read Samaritans’ World Suicide Prevention Day guidance →
It’s a message that matters for our profession in particular — a job that carries real, well-documented risk. Here’s how you can take that message further this week.
Free webinar: Changing the narrative on veterinary suicide
To mark the day, the Mind Matters Initiative is running a free research webinar, ‘Changing the narrative on veterinary suicide’, online from 11am to 12pm on Thursday 10 September 2026.
Chaired by RCVS Director for the Advancement of the Professions Angharad Belcher, the session features two international researchers:
- Helene Seljenes Dalum DVM PhD — veterinary surgeon and researcher, Institute for Studies of the Medical Profession, Norway
- Dr Alena Gadoury BVSc (Hons) BScN — veterinary surgeon and postgraduate researcher, Griffith University, Australia
There’ll be time for delegates to put questions to both speakers at the end.
Free session: How to support your colleagues in the aftermath of suicide
Also on Thursday 10 September, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm, Adam Huxley, Dale Tomlinson and Penny Yang are running a live online session for Thrive Mental Wellbeing — on supporting colleagues after a workplace suicide.
You’ll come away with:
- How to respond appropriately and sensitively to a suicide in the workplace
- Best practice for supporting colleagues’ mental health during a crisis
- How to communicate effectively while protecting privacy and wellbeing
- Tools and resources to help colleagues heal and prevent further harm
It’s aimed at managers, HR and wider teams, and covers how to keep people safe and the workplace compassionate in the aftermath of a suicide.
Listen: BBC Sounds
File on 4 Investigates — available on BBC Sounds
One doctor dies by suicide every three weeks, according to figures from the British Medical Association. In this episode, Dr Lalith Wijedoru is given rare access to a wellbeing and recovery retreat, and hears directly from the four groups of doctors identified as being most at risk — GPs, anaesthetists, surgeons and psychiatrists.
Their stories — of workplace bullying, isolation, fatigue and fear of complaints — take us to the heart of issues facing many NHS professionals, and the wider “system” they work within. Much of it will feel familiar to anyone in veterinary practice too.
A practical safety tool: EuthaSafe
Interrupting a thought is one form of prevention. Building in a pause at the point of access is another. EuthaSafe is a portable, app-controlled secure container for storing and transporting controlled veterinary drugs, including euthanasia medications, in the field — designed to add a short delay before access, since suicidal thoughts are often brief.
If any of this feels close to home, you don’t have to carry it on your own. Our triage tools are there whenever you want to check in with yourself, Needing Help? can point you towards support, and Samaritans are just a call away, free, any time, on 116 123.