A mother whose 13-year-old daughter took her own life is calling for mandatory risk assessments carried out by a trained professional if a young person says they intend to kill themselves.

Natalie James' daughter Ella took her own life in 2023. James has since gathered more than 10,000 signatures on a petition asking the government to make suicide risk assessments a legal requirement.

"I don't want sympathy. I want change," she said.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said its thoughts were with Ella's family and it was "vital that any concerns about a young person's mental health are taken seriously and acted on".

James, from Sittingbourne in Kent, said when a child says they intend to take their own life, "that needs to be heard".

She described her daughter as beautiful, hilarious and someone who loved rugby.

"I can't bring Ella back. I miss her every single minute of every single day," she said.

"I miss ordinary things. I miss finding fake tan all over my bath."

She said when a child spoke out and expressed a desire to harm themselves, there should be a trained professional to assess that situation.

"Give them the correct support, not put them on another waiting list, not send them home, not note it down when a child says they want to die. That needs to be heard."

Ella died on 15 November 2023 after struggling with her mental health.

A four-day inquest heard the 13-year-old had been taken to A&E two days earlier after telling teachers and NHS professionals she wanted to kill herself.

The coroner found there was a "failure to undertake an adequate, or any, risk assessment and take any further steps to ensure Ella's safety".

Ella's best friend Daisy helped launch the petition and said a new law would be important for the families of vulnerable children.

"Rather than just pushed to the side and almost swept under the carpet, seen as a number, it's going to make them feel understood and heard," she said.

"And I feel like it's going to make the families feel like their child's best interests are being understood, listened to, they feel supported."

Dr Nihara Krause is a consultant clinical psychologist and founder of stem4, a digital mental health charity for children and young people.

Krause believes there needs to be a lot more understanding, training and empathy for young people who say they want to take their own life.

"For professionals working in this field, it's so important to try and understand and give some time to what's going on in the young person's life," she said.

"I think there's also a real misunderstanding, even amongst professionals, on suicide itself. Because suicide is not static, it's dynamic."

The current guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence advise health professionals not to use risk assessment tools to predict future suicide.

Guidance to mental health professionals includes undertaking a "risk formulation" as part of every psychosocial assessment, described as a collaborative process between the person and a mental health professional aiming to summarise the person's current risks and difficulties in order to inform a treatment plan.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "We are committed to delivering the Suicide Prevention Strategy for England, with children and young people a key priority within it."

They added "record levels" were being invested in mental health services so "more people can get the help they need when they need it".

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