Can we usefully stratify patients according to suicide risk?

Despite the ubiquity of advice to use suicide risk assessment in clinical practice, there is no evidence that these assessments can usefully guide decision making

All patients presenting with a mental health problem require a thorough and sympathetic assessment with the aim of negotiating an individualised treatment plan

All patients with suicidal thoughts or behaviours should be offered evidence based therapies for the treatable problems associated with suicide, such as substance misuse disorder and depression

The overwhelming majority of people who might be viewed as at high risk of suicide will not die by suicide, and about half of all suicides will occur among people who would be viewed as low risk