Next Anti-Ligature initial Course:
22nd September 2025 | 9.30am to 4.30pm
1 x Payment of £599 + Vat
3 x Payments of £200 + Vat
Welcome to our updated anti ligature training page, where we provide comprehensive training to healthcare professionals, security operators, teachers, social workers, parents, architects, and contractors (to name a few) on the dangers of ligature points and how to prevent them.
What is Anti Ligature Training?
Anti ligature training educates staff on how to identify and eliminate ligature points, which are potential suicide hazards, in mental health units, hospitals, and other healthcare environments.
The training covers everything from identifying ligature points and implementing strategies to reducing the risk of self-harm to understanding the importance of proper documentation.
Why is Anti Ligature Training Important?
You may have seen the Channel 4 Dispatches programme ‘Hospital Undercover: Are Our Wards Safe?‘ where a Dispatches reporter went undercover in the Essex Partnership University Trust.
You would have seen the numerous attempts at patients trying to kill themselves using ligatures.
But it’s far more common than that
A Mental Health Trust was fined £1.5m for safety failings over the deaths of 11 patients
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) took action against the NHS North Essex Partnership Trust (which merged with South Essex Partnership Trust in 2017 to form the Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust) after the deaths by suicide between 2004 and 2015.
The prosecution said the existence of “fixed potential ligature points” amounted to breaches of safety laws.
The judge in the case stated: “There’s no doubt the failures to remove ligature points were a significant cause in the deaths of 11 people who died during the relevant time period, and of a 12th person who died just after, and a number of near misses.
Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust pleaded guilty to an offence under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
HSE Enforcement Notice against NHS Orkney
On 8th July 2022, the HSE served an Enforcement Notice to NHS Orkney.
The notice stated that NHS Orkney had failed to ensure that the risks to patient safety within the mental health transfer room were reduced as far as reasonably practicable. Specifically, it was foreseeable that patients at risk of suicide or self-harm would need to be accommodated in this room, yet NHS Orkney had failed to remove or adequately control environmental ligature risks in the patient areas, among other foreseeable suicide risks.
The Growing Concern
The growing concern around suicide in mental health settings has prompted clinicians, estates professionals and specifiers to assess ligature risks.
Approximately three-quarters of patients who die by suicide on psychiatric wards do so by hanging/strangulation.
Suicide by hanging is one of the most commonly used suicide methods with a high mortality rate, with one research study suggesting at least a 70 percent success rate for death.
In England, there are around 2000 hanging suicides per year and it is the most commonly used suicide method.
Many of these attempts leave the victim with life changing disabilities.
This is why ligature and search training is so important.
This is why NFPS Ltd have created this new version of the Anti Ligature Train The Trainer and Search Course.
The training will take place at Lilleshall National Sports Centre, in Ford Hall.
NFPS Anti-Ligature Train The Trainer Training (Updated for September 2025) Delivered by Operational Experts
We are confident this course will be the industry-leading Anti-Ligature Train-the-Trainer Course and it is delivered by highly experienced, operational instructors who bring decades of real-world insight and front-line knowledge.
Each trainer is actively working in healthcare and security settings, ensuring your learning is grounded in current best practice and real-world risk.
Meet your lead trainers:
Gary Ross – NHS Security Specialist & Violence Reduction Expert
Gary brings over 45 years of front-line experience in handling high-risk, violent, and complex incidents across both public and healthcare sectors.
For the past 17 years, he has worked within two of the UK’s most challenging NHS Acute Trusts as a:
- Violence Reduction & Security Training Manager
- Accredited NHS Security Management Specialist
Gary has designed and delivered bespoke training on:
- Ligature risks and self-harm response
- Violence reduction and restraint strategies
- Risk assessments and environmental safety in healthcare
He continues to work in the NHS and as a freelance security consultant, where he conducts:
- Ligature point risk audits
- Violence reduction strategy reviews
- Security and training needs assessments for NHS Trusts across England
His experience ensures your training is both clinically relevant and operationally robust.
Jim Snipe – Ligature Response Specialist, Author & Mental Health Nurse
With nearly 40 years of experience, Jim has worked across:
- Learning disability services
- Mental health units
- Acute wards
- Secure and custodial settings, both in the UK and Australia
Jim has:
- Led ligature response training across multiple settings
- Authored key policies on ligature removal and environmental risk assessment
- Developed training frameworks for anchor point identification and room searching
Jim continues to work in healthcare today, applying his knowledge to real-world clinical environments. His training approach is practical, active, and hands-on, empowering delegates to build real competence, not just theory.
Why Learn From Us?
Together, Gary and Jim bring nearly 60 years of operational healthcare experience. Their combined knowledge ensures this Anti-Ligature Trainer Course is:
- Credible and evidence-based
- Current and legally informed
- Fully aligned with NHS, CQC, and Health & Safety standards
They don’t just teach, they still do the job.
Course Outcomes
By the end of the course, you will:
- Understand ligature risks and removal protocols
- Be able to assess environments for ligature points and anchor hazards
- Gain the tools to deliver in-house ligature awareness training confidently
- Be equipped to support policy development in your own setting
The Benefits of Anti-Ligature Training
Not only does it help prevent suicide attempts, but it also creates a safer environment for patient, service users and staff.
By eliminating ligature points, healthcare, care and custodial professionals can focus on providing care to those who need it, without the fear of harm or injury.
Additionally, the training ensures that staff are prepared to deal with any potential incidents that may arise.
There will be no BLS/First Aid training component on this course and we advise anyone attending to ensure they have a valid first aid qualification.
Is Anti-Ligature Training A Legal Requirement?
In the UK, it is a requirement for all organisations to ensure the health, safety and welfare of everyone in the workplace.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have identified the risk of suicide in the workplace as a priority area, and therefore it is essential that staff are adequately trained to prevent these incidents from occurring (as you can see from the Health and Safety Executives (HSE) prosecution and cases mentioned above).
Next Anti-Ligature initial Course:
22nd September 2025 | 9.30am to 4.30pm
1 x Payment of £599 + Vat
3 x Payments of £200 + Vat
Anti-Ligature Training Is an Ofsted and CQC Requirement
Ofsted and CQC inspectors are continually requesting providers to evidence that staff are receiving ligature training to ensure that staff are equipped with the necessary skills and training to enable them to manage self-harm/ligature incidents and save lives.
As an example:
“Providers must take all reasonable steps to ensure children are safe on the premises. This includes identifying and managing risks associated with self-harm and suicide.” — Ofsted: Inspecting Safeguarding in Early Years, Education and Skills Settings
This training programme is designed to meet the requirements set out by the HSE and the evidence required by Ofsted and CQC, which you will need when they inspect you.
What Does The Anti-Ligature Train The Trainer Course Cover?
The course covers:
- Relevant Law and Legislation
- Types of ligatures
- Ligature anchor points
- Anatomy and ligature attachments
- Medical issues
- Types of ligatures and cutters
- Removal of ligatures
- Searching: Person and room; ligatures and anchor points
- Post incident requirements/considerations
- Plus loads more …….
What Do I Get Once Trained as an Anti-Ligature Trainer?
As with all NFPS courses, the post course resources and support are unparalleled. On completion of the course, you will receive:
- NFPS Level 3 Certification with optional Licence
- Trainer Manual containing pertinent information relating to ligature awareness across all sectors concerned with ligatures; a very unique resource
- Trainer PowerPoints
- Trainer archive of ligature related documents (policies, risk assessments, workbook, research etc.)
- NFPS Ligature 'Rescue Bag' containing reputable equipment: Kevlar gloves, Barrington scissors, Barrington's ligature cutter, Shark safety knife
What Do I Do Next?
To book your place on the next course choose your payment option below and then simply click the ‘Book now‘ button to secure your place