290 lives lost to suicide: report confirms mental health system under pressure in North
'Too Many Lives Lost' also reinforced urgent calls for action on funding, leadership and delivery
A new report from the North's Mental Health Champion, Professor Siobhan O'Neill, has confirmed the North's mental health system is under "sustained pressure" following the loss of 290 lives to suicide.
'Too Many Lives Lost' also reinforced urgent calls for action on funding, leadership and delivery.
PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity launched the “Too Many Lives Lost” campaign in November 2025 in response to the latest NISRA statistics.
Since then, the campaign, supported by Foyle Search and Rescue, Rural Support NI, SOS Bus NI, TAMHI and North West Mountain Rescue Team, has consistently highlighted the gap between policy commitments and the reality facing frontline services.
Five years into the ten-year Mental Health Strategy, only 16% of the required funding has been delivered, leaving a widening gap between commitment and reality.
Campaigners say that while suicide prevention is often described as an Executive wide issue, this must not result in a lack of accountability.
“Suicide prevention is an Executive-wide issue, but that cannot become an excuse for spreading responsibility so widely that no one is accountable. We do not need dilution across multiple departments and budgets. We need clear leadership from one Minister who can be held accountable for delivery, said Renée Quinn, CEO of PIPS Suicide Prevention Charity.
She added: "Since November, we have been raising the alarm following the loss of 290 lives. This report confirms what we are seeing every day, services are under pressure, demand is rising, and the system is not keeping pace with need.
The gap between what has been promised and what is being delivered continues to grow. The issue is no longer what needs to be done, it is whether there is the political will to act.
Since November, following the confirmation of 290 lives registered as lost to suicide, we have taken sustained action to ensure this crisis cannot be ignored.
*We launched a public petition campaign at Stormont, supported by media coverage and public engagement
*Written to all 90 MLAs outlining the funding gap and human cost (limited responses received)
*Directly engaged with the First Minister, deputy First Minister and Minister of Health, calling for urgent leadership and accountability.
*Met several MLAs
*Engaged with the Chair of the All-Party Group on Suicide Prevention, challenging delay and direction of process
*Issued multiple press statements and joint communications highlighting service pressures and funding failure
*Brought over 7,000 public voices to Stormont, demonstrating clear public demand for action
*Taken the campaign across N.Ireland - Enniskillen, Derry and Belfast, ensuring this message is heard across Northern Ireland.
This shows the issue has been clearly raised at every level. The evidence has been repeatedly presented, and the public has clearly spoken. Nothing about this crisis is unknown, the issue is not awareness. it is action.
Campaigners say core issues remain unchanged: "We have raised this at every level. We have presented the evidence repeatedly. Now this report confirms the same conclusions. At this point, the barrier is not in lack of understanding, the blockage is prioritisation by the Executive.”
Campaigners say the report fundamentally changes the context: “It removes any doubt. This is no longer a campaign claim, a sector concern, or a matter of opinion. This is now independently confirmed.”
Campaigners also challenged the need for further inquiry: “We do not need more inquiry. We are five years into a ten-year strategy. The evidence exists. The need is known. The consequences are visible. Further process at this stage is not scrutiny, it is delay."
On the issue of funding, campaigners were clear: “We know when Ministers decide something is a priority, funding is found. We have seen that repeatedly. The issue is not availability, it is prioritisation.”
Campaigners have also warned that without funding, strategy cannot deliver: “A strategy without funding is not delivery, it is a promise that cannot be kept. Public time, expertise, and resources have already been spent developing this strategy. Leaving it unfunded turns that work into wasted effort and leaves communities without the support they were promised. Creating a strategy without funding to deliver it does not save lives"
The campaign is calling for:
*Full and immediate funding of the Mental Health Strategy;
*Clear, enforceable timelines for delivery;
*Urgent investment in community suicide crisis services;
*Clear Executive prioritisation and Ministerial accountability for delivery
With suicide continuing to impact communities across Northern Ireland, campaigners say the time for statements has passed.
“When independent reports, frontline services, and communities all point to the same conclusion, delay is no longer neutral, it is a risk factor, and it costs lives. When 290 lives have been lost, delay is no longer acceptable.”
Campaigners said the focus must now shift from discussion to actions:“What are Ministers going to do and when?
"If the release of 290 suicide deaths in November did not provoke ministerial action, what will?
"At this point, failure to act is a choice.
"There can be no more delay, no more deflection, and no more process used as cover for inaction.”