Impact Review 2024-25: Self-harm Matters HIT

The Self-harm Matters HIT brings together researchers, practitioners and public health professionals with an interest in self-harm and suicide prevention, alongside those with lived experience. The HIT aims to support access to services for those who self-harm, increase awareness of what can cause self-harm, and reduce presentation to emergency departments through tailored pathways that support access to mental health services. Here are highlights from the HIT in 2024-25.

19th July 2025

Welcoming new voices and perspectives

Three new public contributors have joined the HIT. Their insights have been invaluable to understanding the lived experience of self-harm and how prevention requires nuanced interventions for groups known to be at a high risk of self-harm.

These public contributors are also supporting BNSSG’s trauma-informed practice training, run by Second Step, which has been part funded by the HIT.

Enabling better understanding of self-harm data

Self-harm in young people has been highlighted as an area of concern for the region and across the South West. This led to last year’s briefing ‘Understanding Self-harm in Children and Young People aged 10-24 years in BNSSG’, produced by Bristol City Council’s Population Health Specialist Team with collaboration from the HIT. It aimed to better support those who plan and deliver services for children and young people, to understand the intersectionality for many who self-harm, and the number of times they accessed different primary and secondary care services over a three-year period.

HIT member Nia Reeves from Bristol City Council presented the briefing at the Southwest Self Harm Prevention Conference in April 2024. It was highlighted as best practice in capturing the true picture of those who self-harm through GP presentations, 111/999 calls and emergency department attendances and admissions. Other ICBs expressed interest in following the methodology in their own regions to record the unmet needs of children and young people who self-harm.

Updating information for GPs

The HIT helped review and update the BNSSG GP Remedy pages. These provide GP advice and referral information for children and adults that present with self-harm. This has ensured that GPs within BNSSG have the most up-to- date support during consultations to support those who self-harm locally.

Supporting young people’s mental health practitioners

The Digital Dialogues website, supported by the HIT, guides mental health practitioners when discussing online activity and online harms during consultations with children and young people. Digital Dialogues is co-producing a companion training session and toolkit with local practitioners, including from the Young People’s Mental Health service Off the Record. The training is now being piloted with 50 mental health practitioners, some of whom have been recruited via the HIT.

Funding enabled in 2024-25

The Self-harm Matters HIT helped secure £35,433 in 2024-25 for projects to generate research evidence, improve outcomes and address health inequalities.