“Kale’s Law” a legal duty for mental health services to follow up and support vulnerable people after they ask for help  

This petition is in honour of Kale Thomas, a young man from Anglesey, North Wales, who tragically died by suicide after seeking help from mental health services.
Kale reached out for support during a time of clear distress. He asked for help. He was known to services. Yet the day after doing what so many are encouraged to do, speak up and ask for support, Kale lost his life.
His death has raised serious questions about how vulnerable people are supported when they seek help and what happens when there is no legal duty to follow up, no continuity of care and no guarantee that someone will check in again.

Kale’s story is not unique. Across the UK, families continue to say the same thing, that their loved one asked for help and didn’t get it  

This petition seeks to honour Kale’s life by calling for change, so that when someone reaches out, they are not left alone and so that others do not suffer the same fate.

Every year thousands of people in the UK seek help from mental health services but are not given adequate support, follow up, or continuity of care. This can lead to preventable harm, deterioration, people going missing and ultimately suicide or crisis.

This petition calls for the introduction of Kale’s Law. A new UK legislation requiring mental health services to have a legal duty to follow up with individuals after they seek help, ensure continuity of care, and reduce preventable harm and deaths.

Why is this law needed? At present there is no enforceable duty for services to follow up people after they first seek help, even when risk is known. 

Many vulnerable people are turned away, placed on long waiting lists or discharged without follow up. Families repeatedly report that warning signs were missed and no ongoing support was provided before someone deteriorated or died by suicide.  
Without a statutory duty, services often treat follow up as optional or resource dependent. This petition seeks to change that by placing a legal obligation on mental health and related services to ensure follow up and support after initial contact.

What Kale’s Law would do?
Kale’s Law would require that:
1. People who seek help for mental health concerns receive timely follow up and continuity of care. 
2. Mental health services are accountable for maintaining contact with individuals at risk, until a safe ongoing care plan is in place.
3. Government reports annually on consistent data around follow up contacts, outcomes and service gaps.

Evidence from other countries
Finland provides a useful example of how national mental health strategies and community based follow up can reduce suicide risk. Finland for example, have implemented a series of national suicide prevention initiatives, including early detection, better access to treatment and community support. This has contributed to a more than 50% reduction in suicide rates since the 1990s, alongside comprehensive community services.  

Research also shows that community mental health services, which include outpatient support and around the clock emergency access are linked with lower suicide rates than systems focused mainly on inpatient care.  

These examples show that when mental health systems prioritise early engagement and follow up outcomes improve.

Why this matters now
Suicide and self harm are complex, but early support and follow up after someone asks for help is a proven prevention strategy. Placing this duty into law will
1. Save lives
2. Improve access to care
3. Reduce family trauma
4. Encourage earlier engagement with services
5. Support mental health professionals to act with clarity and responsibility

Legal duty must be accompanied by adequate funding, workforce support and clear accountability so services can meet this obligation effectively.

We call on the UK Government and Parliament to
1. Introduce and enact Kale’s Law
2. Place a statutory duty of follow-up and continuity of care on mental health services
3. Ensure this duty supports suicide prevention and protection of vulnerable people across the UK 

Lives depend on it please act before it’s too late.

This petition seeks to honour Kale’s life by calling for change because the current system is largely designed to react after crisis and tragedy occur, rather than to prevent harm in the first place and we believe that must change.