£300k funding to help cut rise in suicides

The number of suicides has risen in Staffordshire at almost the same rate as they have fallen in the rest of the UK, accounting for more deaths in recent years than breast cancer and strokes.

The new £300,000 funding will target middle-aged men, and people who self-harm, introducing a service to increase support for people attending hospital who are at high risk of suicide, as well as provide training for staff working in GP surgeries and pharmacies.

The programme will also work with communities to encourage people to seek help and intervene where someone may be at risk, and training in workplaces will also be offered.

The Samaritans charity says Staffordshire's large rural population, including a high percentage of farmers, makes it prone to suicide.

A breakdown of districts in 2016 showed Stafford as the biggest suicide hotspot, followed by Newcastle-under-Lyme, with Cannock Chase in third place, Lichfield in fourth and South Staffordshire in sixth spot.

Following the economic crash in 2008 the number of people taking their own lives in Staffordshire almost doubled over the following two years. Since then, with the exception of 2010, the number of those taking their own lives in the county has been around 80 each year.

A joint bid by Staffordshire County Council and Stoke-on-Trent City Council won £300,000 for 2019-2020 for the three-year national initiative. The county’s suicide prevention programme will be hosted by Together We’re Better (TWB), a partnership of NHS and local government organisations.

Dr Waheed Abbasi, clinical lead for TWB’s mental health programme, said: “We find that men generally, and middle-aged men in particular, are often the most reluctant group to seek help when dealing with stress and mental ill health. Letting those problems build makes mental health crisis more likely, and suicide is one of the biggest killers of men in our society.

“That’s why this new workstream is so important, as it will work to identify more patients who are at risk and offer them support, in order to reduce the overall incidence of self-harm and suicide.”

Simon Whitehouse, director of Together We’re Better, said: “Mental health is an important aspect of overall health and wellbeing that, historically, has not received the focus it deserves.

“That’s changed a lot in recent years with more resources being made available to build public awareness and to provide support through mental health services, and we still have got a long way to go.

“However, I’m delighted that we’ve secured this additional funding to help us reach an often forgotten demographic. This additional investment in suicide and self-harm prevention in Staffordshire is an important step towards achieving the national zero-suicide ambition.”

The government has committed to reducing suicides in England by 10 per cent by 2021.