Joy Division joins call for suicide to become public health emergency, 42 years after Ian Curtis death

Members of the band Joy Division have joined the calls for action to prevent suicides as MPs call for action, 42 years after the death of lead singer Ian Curtis.

During a meeting held at Speakers House, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris discussed their own experience following the death of Curtis in 1980 and said there was still long way to go in treating mental health as equal to physical health.

Their warnings come as suicide conclusions by coroners increased by 8 per cent in 2021, according to figures published by the Ministry of Justice last week.

The coroners’ report revealed 4,820 suicide conclusions were returned during inquests in 2021, the highest recorded since reporting began. Not all deaths would have occurred in 2021, however.

Speaking at the meeting, Sir Keir Starmer, Labour leader, set out his party’s plan for mental health, including setting a target for all patients to receive mental health care within a month.

Mr Starmer also set out promises to create open access mental health hub for children and young people in every community, providing early intervention and drop-in services.

NHS England is piloting a waiting time target for patients to be seen within four weeks of referral to community mental health services.

In a statement, Bernard Sumner and Stephen Morris said: “We would like to thank everyone for coming together to discuss such a vital topic.  We were very young when we lost our friend and bandmate in 1980. Both ourselves and the times were unprepared to understand the complex issues involved to help him before it was too late.  Over 40 years later, there is still a way to go and mental health needs to be treated on a par with physical health. If we can reach one person by speaking out about this, it will be worth it.

Simon Gunning, chief executive for the suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM), said: “It’s 40 years since Ian Curtis’ death, yet despite government reforms and attempts to tackle suicide, suicide remains a public health emergency.

“There has been progress - we’re more able to talk about how we feel, and use of services like CALM’s helpline grows every year. However, our own research shows increasingly worrying trends - for example 46 per cent of young men in the UK have considered suicide as an option, whilst ONS data shows 16-24s (especially females) now constitute the fastest growing group that are at high risk.”

He said CLAM was concerned by the loss of a dedicated minister for suicide prevention. The role was previously covered by former minister for patient safety, suicide prevention and mental health Nadine Dorries.

Mr Gunning added: “Whilst mental health and suicide prevention organisations are more determined than ever to reach the people most in need we can’t do it alone, and lessons must be learnt from the past If we are to prevent what is looking more and more like an imminent mental health crisis.”

Gillian Keegan, Minister for Mental Health, said: “Suicide is a tragedy and devastates the lives of families and communities. I‘m committed to improving mental health and wellbeing outcomes and to reducing rates of suicide.

“Our mental health call for evidence will support development of a new, 10-year, cross-government plan for mental health and wellbeing, and we are working with the suicide prevention sector over the coming year to review the 2012 suicide prevention strategy and develop a new national suicide prevention plan.

“The action we take over the coming decade to support the nation’s mental health will ultimately contribute towards preventing suicide – both among people in contact with NHS services, and people in the community.“

If you’re struggling or affected by issues in this article CALM offer advice at calmzone.net.