Leeds academic campaigning for work-related suicides to be counted - and learned from

Professor Sarah Waters says suicide should not be reduced to a mental health problem - and is lobbying the HSE for change.

Dr Waters, from the School of Lanuages, Cultures and Societies, told Healthcare Digital that all organisations have a duty to prevent suicides – yet in the UK, suicides, even when they take place in the workplace, does not need to be reported to the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) – only the coroner.

The French studies professor, who has written a book about work-related suicides in France, is also part of the Hazards campaign, which is lobbying the HSE to collect data on work-related suicides – and says not doing so creates further risk of people taking their own lives.

She said factors and conditions that may have caused the tragedy may not be addressed, and continue to pose a risk for other employees. 

She told Healthcare Digital:

We believe that suicides should be counted. If you don’t count something, then you can’t account for it or make others accountable. All organisations have a duty to prevent suicides from taking place.

Dr Waters added that suicide should not be reduced to a mental health problem – seen as only ‘in the mind’ – as this could prevent questions about wider social structures and relationships, including working conditions.

Read the full interview on the Healthcare Digital website.