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The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), in collaboration with Public Health England (PHE), has launched toolkits to guide nurses and other health professionals in the prevention of suicide in lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender (LGBT) young people.

The toolkits have been developed in recognition of the higher risk of suicide for LGBT young people highlighted by METRO Youth Chances research. They aim to equip nurses to support LGBT young people and reduce the risk of suicide.

Welcoming the report METRO Chief Executive, Dr Greg Ussher said:

We welcome this initiative from the RCN and PHE to help reduce the frighteningly high risk of suicide for lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender young people and those questioning their sexuality (LGBTQ). We work with young people everyday who are struggling with their sexual and/or gender identity and the effects of homophobia biphobia and transphobia. It is the very reason we undertook our Youth Chances research, which the RCN recognises in its reports..

METRO Youth Chances highlights the massively increased rates of mental health problems for LGBTQ young people including increased risk of depression, suicidal thoughts and self-harm. 44% of LGBQ young people report thinking of suicide and half of self-harm. The rates for trans young people are even higher at 66% thinking of suicide and 72% self-harming.

Urgent action is needed to attend to this crisis. We urge professional bodies, commissioners, central and local government and service providers to use the evidence from METRO Youth Chances to make a difference to the lives of LGBQ and trans (LGBTQ) young people. The RCN toolkit is an example of how this can be done.

We hope that the mental health needs of LGBTQ young people are addressed in the report of the Department of Health's Children and Young People's Mental Health Taskforce later this month.

Notes:

  1. 1. For further information about the toolkits http://www.rcn.org.uk/newsevents/media
  2. 2. You can access the toolkits here http://goo.gl/RwS52Q
  3. 3. You can find out more about the Children & Young People's Mental Health Taskforce here
  4. 4. Youth Chances is funded by the Big Lottery Fund and is led by METRO in partnership with the University of Greenwich and Ergo Consulting. It is a five year social research project working directly with individuals, providers and commissioners to influence service provision and policy for 16-25 year old LGBTQ youth.www.youthchances.org Youth Chances results are based on a representative sample of over 7,000 young people