Recognisable changes in thoughts, sleep or behaviour
Ask what is happening now, whether suicidal thoughts are present and whether the person can remain safe while help is contacted.
Making a Safety Plan for Suicidal Thoughts
One safe step at a time.
A safety plan is a short, personalised sequence for recognising warning signs, creating distance from danger, contacting people and services, and reaching emergency help when needed.
Direct answerSay what is happening.
Say what is happening.
Bring another person in.
A safety plan is a short, personalised sequence for recognising warning signs, creating distance from danger, contacting people and services, and reaching emergency help when needed.
The plan is most useful when written collaboratively while the person can think more clearly. It should use their own words, name real contacts, address access to danger and remain easy to find. It is not a contract or a guarantee that risk will not change.
A proportionate next step
Agree warning signs, internal coping steps, safer people and places, professional contacts, emergency routes and practical ways to reduce access to danger. Share the plan with agreed supporters and review it after any crisis or important change.
Signals to take seriouslyLook for change.
Look for change.
Ask about safety.
No list or score predicts suicide. These prompts help begin a direct conversation and decide whether urgent services are needed.
Situations that repeatedly increase hopelessness
Ask what is happening now, whether suicidal thoughts are present and whether the person can remain safe while help is contacted.
Loss of contact with usual supporters
Ask what is happening now, whether suicidal thoughts are present and whether the person can remain safe while help is contacted.
Changes in access to danger or ability to stay safe
Ask what is happening now, whether suicidal thoughts are present and whether the person can remain safe while help is contacted.
What to doUse a short
Use a short
safety sequence.
The aim is not to produce a diagnosis. It is to reduce isolation and reach the right level of help.
Ask directly and listen
Use calm, plain language. Give the person time to answer and reflect back what you heard without debate, guilt or forced optimism.
Clarify immediate safety
Ask whether the person may act, has made preparations or can stay safe. Do not use a risk score or a verbal promise as a substitute for professional assessment.
Create connection and distance from danger
Stay together when safety is uncertain, move towards a safer shared place, involve another trusted person and reduce access to danger without confrontation.
Use the appropriate UK route
Agree warning signs, internal coping steps, safer people and places, professional contacts, emergency routes and practical ways to reduce access to danger. Share the plan with agreed supporters and review it after any crisis or important change.
Important boundarySupport is shared.
Support is shared.
Safety is not a private burden.
A safety plan does not replace psychosocial assessment, treatment or emergency action. If the person may act or cannot keep safe, call 999 or go to A&E rather than completing the document first.
Suicidal thoughts require human contact and, where indicated, professional assessment. Never delay NHS or emergency help while waiting for an iMetaWellness response.
Conversation prompts
Four clear questions.
Adapt the language to age, communication needs and the relationship, while keeping the meaning direct.
Are you thinking about suicide?
This names the concern without euphemism and gives the person permission to answer directly.
Do you feel you may act on those thoughts?
A “yes”, uncertainty or inability to answer clearly can require urgent or emergency action.
Can you stay safe while we contact help?
Do not leave someone alone when safety is uncertain. Call 999 or go to A&E for immediate danger.
Who else can help us carry this now?
Identify a trusted person and the relevant NHS, GP, mental-health or emergency route.
Non-crisis supportUrgent route first.
Urgent route first.
Private enquiry afterwards.
Once immediate safety and clinical support are established, use the patient form to ask whether complementary wellbeing support is suitable.