Agenda item

Ruth Fletcher-Brown, Public Health Specialist, to present an update on suicide prevention.

The Chair invited Ruth Fletcher-Brown, Public Health Specialist to give a presentation and update on suicide prevention.

It was outlined that responsibility for suicide prevention action plans sits with local government (in England) but this cannot be achieved without working with partners.

At Place RMBC work with:

·       People with living experience

·       South Yorkshire Police

·       NHS SY ICB (Rotherham)

·       Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust

·       RDASH 

·       Rotherham Samaritans & other Voluntary and Community Sector organisations

·       Rotherham United Community Trust

South Yorkshire ICB

•       People with living experience

•       Public Health Leads for all 4 Local Authorities

•       NHS SY ICB

•       Acute Trusts

•       Mental Health Trusts

•       SYP & British Transport Police

•       Yorkshire Ambulance Service

•       Office of Health Improvement and Disparities (OHID)

•       Primary Care

Further details were given in the slides of the rates of suicide (standardised per 100,000) from 2001-03 to 2019-21 for Rotherham compared with England; disaggregated on the basis of male:female; and comparators against CIPFA nearest neighbours.

What’s working well- Rotherham

•       New Be the One film launched September 2022

•       Continued promotion of Place Guidance document for staff and volunteers on responding to people at risk of suicide

•       309  frontline staff and volunteers have attended suicide prevention, self harm and mental health awareness training in 22/23

•       Suicide Awareness session delivered for primary care in March 2023

•       Suicide Awareness session in Safeguarding Awareness week, November 2022

•       Distribution of ‘Walk with Us’ resource to all schools (124) , colleges, early years, cyp services, voluntary and community organisations (70) and all childcare providers

•       Early Help delivery of self harm awareness sessions for parents and carers

•       Early Intervention and prevention work- as evidenced in the Prevention Concordat application

•       Joint working with domestic abuse colleagues

•       Peer to peer support groups (Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide, Andy’s Man Club and ASK)

•       ICB Rotherham commissioning Qwell, the online mental health platform for adults

What’s working well- South Yorkshire

•       Strong partnership working- all 4 LAs, SYP, NHS and Voluntary and Community Sector

•       Second memorial event for families bereaved by suicide in December 2022

•       Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide groups (SOBS) in all 4 LA areas

•       Real Time Surveillance including work with Yorkshire Ambulance Service

•       Reducing access to means

•       Joint working on themes and addressing the needs of vulnerable and at risk groups.

•       Launch of ‘Walk with Us’  toolkit. Winner in the LGC Award Public/Public Partnership category.

What are we worried about

•       Increasing pressure on individuals and families

•       Support for people who had attempted suicide

•       Yorkshire Ambulance Data for SY data shows that the anxiety was the highest presenting final working impression

•       Rotherham’s response to the NICE guidance in relation to self harm

•       Capacity for comms and engagement activity

•       Support for peer-to-peer support groups going forwards

•       Changes to the SY Real Time Surveillance System meant that the onus is on staff from across the partnership to promote Amparo

•       Launch of the Attempted Suicide Prevention service

What needs to happen next and when

•       Partners to review the Traumatic Bereavement Pathway for children and young people- May 2023

•       Further specific actions to address needs of vulnerable and at risk groups- specifically transitions

•       Launch of the Attempted Suicide Prevention service- Autumn 2023

•       There have been 412 referrals to the ZSA training through the Be the One website to date. Further promotion of Zero Suicide Alliance Training- ongoing

•       Targeted work on themes and vulnerable groups identified through real time data- ongoing

•       Promotion of mental health support to children, young people and adults in Rotherham- ongoing

•       Targeted Comms campaigns as part of Be the One- summer 2023

•       Review action plan in light of the anticipated national strategy- Summer/Autumn 2023

The Chair offered his congratulations on behalf of the Board for the recent LGC Award in the Public/Public Partnership category for its ‘Walk with Us’ toolkit.

Resolved: That the update be received.