Symptomatic of the crisis in acute sector psychiatric nursing is the failure to care adequately for people at risk of suicide or self-harm, argue Phil Barker and John Cutcliffe. Here they outline anew model of care for suicidal people based on the restoration of hope through individual, in-depth assessment of problems and needs and the development in partnership with the patient of apersonalized 'security plan'. The 'hopeline' model could provide the basis for acute sector mental health nursing practice across the board, they suggest.