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February 2024 

Welcome to the February 2024 Suicide Prevention Newsletter for Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES). 

This newsletter has been created to keep you informed of suicide prevention work that is happening in B&NES and update you on forthcoming events and training opportunities. The focus of this edition is to provide an overview of our suicide prevention stakeholder event which took place on the 11th October 2023, the new national suicide prevention strategy (2023) and to provide an update of key achievements of the B&NES suicide prevention strategy (2020-2023)

Please cascade within your networks for shared awareness. To subscribe for future newsletters or access archived newsletters press the 'subscribe' button above.

If you would like more information about the content of this newsletter or if you would like to contribute to future editions, please get in touch by emailing suicide_prevention@bathnes.gov.uk 

Disclaimer: If you find any of this content upsetting or distressing please call Samaritans 116 123 for free or talk to a professional or a person you trust.
In This Newsletter:

1.  Update from the annual B&NES Suicide Prevention stakeholder event

2. Feedback from suicide prevention stakeholder event 

3. The new 5 year national suicide prevention strategy 

4.  Update on our local three year strategy 

5. Latest news

6. Training

7. Tools
An update from our annual suicide prevention stakeholder event
Thank you to all of you who joined us for our 4th annual suicide prevention stakeholder event held in Guildhall on the 11th of October. 

We had a successful turn out and hosted over 85 professionals for a packed morning full of workshop discussions, speakers and presentations that will help influence the development of our next strategy and action plan. It was beneficial to hear first hand how suicide prevention is ingrained into every role and the impact this has had on our services and residents in B&NES.  

The event supported the Suicide Prevention Strategy with the vision that suicide prevention is everybody's responsibility. This is reflected in our B&NES suicide prevention strategy vision (2020 - 2023) to reduce suicide and self-harm, ensure that no resident will think that suicide is their only option and to tackle the stigma associated with suicide by creating conversations, supporting those affected by suicide and building community resilience. 

During the event, we had information stands set up around the hall from local services, such as, Bath Mind, AWP mental health and the Samaritans. We would like to thank all of them for sharing service information, providing leaflets and more signposting information. 
 
Feedback from stakeholder event: 
We collated feedback during the event and this will be taken into consideration when shaping what we do in the 2024-2028 BSW suicide prevention strategy and as part of what is included within the B&NES action plan. 
 
What has gone well? 

- There are more conversations being held amongst both adults and young people about suicide and more people are reaching out about mental health generally. 

- There is improved communication and promotion of local charities, third sector organisations and services using social media and newsletters, creating greater awareness of the support available and locally available training opportunities.

- Services have been able to identify gaps and barriers to mental health services and sharing ideas on how to bridge these gaps.

- The out of hours support has improved and there is now more help available in the evenings and over the past 2 years, more services have catered for both online and face-to-face options.

- There are greater mental health resources available within universities and across schools with an improved offer for young people.

- There has been more joint agency working, collaboration and support structures which has resulted in shared ownership of the suicide prevention agenda. 
 
What needs to be improved?

- It was identified that there is a recruitment and retention gap within the crisis services. 
 
- There is a lack of integration between services with regards to information sharing and access to data.

- There is a need for greater understanding of dual diagnosis and a more integrated approach to tackling it. 

- There is always room for improvement for greater collaboration, communication and co-production between services. 

- Generally a lack of funding for resources and staff.
 
The New National Suicide Prevention strategy
On the 11th September, the department of health and social care published the new five year national suicide prevention strategy. The strategy outlines the government's ambition for suicide prevention, together with 100 actions, it is hoped that this will begin to make initial reductions within 2.5 years. Everyone has a role to play in suicide prevention, and the strategy is a call for action for national and local government, the health service, and the VCSE sector, employers and individuals to promote suicide prevention. 

The priority areas for action are: 
  • Improving data and evidence
  • Tailored, targeted support to priority groups, including those at higher risk of suicide 
  • Addressing common risk factors linked to suicide at a population level
  • Promoting online safety and responsible media content to reduce harms and improve support and signposting
  • Providing effective crisis support across sectors for those who reach crisis point
  • Reducing access to means and methods of suicide 
  • Providing effective bereavement support to those affected by suicide 
  • Making suicide everybody's business

This will be supported by funding that will support mental health services, suicide prevention and bereavement services, urgent and emergency mental health pathways, specialised mental health ambulances and support to suicide prevention VSCE organisations. 
 
Our 2020 - 2023 local suicide prevention strategy

Our B&NES Suicide Prevention strategy which was implemented from 2020 -2023 has now come to an end. We will learn from the achievements and challenges that presented themselves during the implementation of the strategy and we will build on good practice under the new national suicide prevention strategy. Our next steps will be to finalise the BSW Suicide Prevention Strategy and to create a new B&NES action plan from these strategies combined.

Here are a few examples of the work developed during this strategy:
 
- The introduction of the Real Time Suicide Surveillance (RTSS) and bereavement services
- A post-vention pathway for bereavement services to support those affected by suicide
- Mapping and promotion of free training opportunities and awareness campaigns  
- British Transport Police in B&NES now have a dedicated mental health nurse
- Police how have an app dedicated to supporting police officers suffering with mental health.
- B&NES student mental health forum event 
- Our Annual B&NES Suicide Prevention Stakeholder event 
- B&NES Suicide Prevention newsletter
- Dual diagnosis pilot that placed a mental health worker within drug & alcohol services
- Safety Planning Leads placed in the Emergency Department in the RUH

To name a few... 
Bath Mind's breathing space opening hours
Bath Mind’s Breathing Space service is open 365 days a year. Breathing Space consists of both a face-to-face and telephone service, offering calm, non-clinical support for individuals experiencing or at risk of a mental health crisis. Staffed by a team with a broad range of experience in mental health issues, the services offer a compassionate listening ear and signposting to relevant services.
 
Freephone line is open from 5:30pm to 11:00pm, every day of the year.
Face-to-face service is open from 6pm to 10:30pm, every day of the year.

Latest News

Suicide Bereavement UK's 13th international conference is to be held on September 26th 2024 in Manchester. This one day hybrid (£118.78) face-to-face (£185.52) conference covers preliminary findings of relevant studies and reflection of progress. You can register attendance in the link with a 20% early bird discount at the moment. 

A reminder that Dorset have produced a  Suicide Prevention Language and Terminology  document to assist with addressing a suicide in a safe sensitive manner. It talks through the Do's and Don'ts's alongside terminology definitions. 

A resource for mental health professionals has been published for health professionals designed as support for staff if a patient dies by suicide. The guide is designed for all mental health professionals, including trainees and unqualified staff. Its purpose is to provide information about a difficult topic that those in mental health often avoid discussing, to reduce a sense of isolation, and to help clinicians cope at what is likely to be a very difficult time.

In July, Proffessor Nav Kapur from NCISH presented the 2022 NICE guidelines for self-harm: assessment, management and preventing recurrence. You can watch the full webinar here.
Support After Suicide Partnership (SASP)- research report on LGBTQ+ experiences of suicide bereavement support - Those that at identify as LGBTQ+ are at an increased risk of suicide. The study highlights experiences of discrimination, exclusion, isolation, guilt, shame and poor responses from primary care services, bereavement services and the coroner's court. 
Bath Mind has opened a new non-medical house for mental health support in Midsomer Norton called Orchard House. They will be providing 7-10 days accommodation and support for adults experiencing a mental health crisis. 

Training

Suicide training for blue light services responding to suicide - Suicide Bereavement UK now offer 'responding to suicides' (RTS)  training for all emergency services across a wide range of professions (police, ambulance, fire, air sea and rescue, mountain rescue, coastguards etc). This one a one day course and client testimonials can be found on the website. 
Bath Mind Mental Health First Aid Refresh - if you are a qualified mental health first aider, it's necessary that you refresh your training 2-3 years. Bath mind are offering a half day MHFA for £150  with spaces available on the 7th February 2024. Sign up here or check out the brochure.
Bath Mind's Suicide First Aid - This one day course can either by delivered online via Zoom or by an experienced specialist Bath Mind trainer. This course is £163 with spaces available on 19th February 2024 and you can sign up here or check out the brochure.
The Zero Suicide Alliance offers free suicide training within a range of contexts from prisons, taxi drivers, universities, veteran and social isolation. Depending on how much time you have, they offer versions from 5 minutes to 20. Click here to see what they offer.
Alcohol Identification and Brief Advice (IBA) is a free short course which will provide B&NES workforce with the tools and confidence to identify whether the individuals they support are drinking above lower risk levels, give simple, brief advice and make referrals to appropriate services where necessary. For more information about the training, or to register to attend please follow this link or email leanne_sheppard@bathnes.gov.uk
COMING SOON... B&NES Training on Suicide Awareness and Emotional Resilience for professionals 
Wellbeing College’s wellbeing courses is a one stop shop for FREE community courses. Their website has online and face to face courses for Bath & North East Somerset residents over the age of 16. To browse courses and book through their calendar you can follow this link here.

Tools

 
  1. Cool2talk NHS website for young people aged between 12 and 25 years old. a safe, confidential space for young people to ask about anything that might be worrying them.
  2. Switchboard LGBTQ+ helpline A one-stop listening service for LGBTIQ+ people.
  3. R;pple Effect Newsletter. R;pple is an interceptive tool designed to present a visual prompt when a person searches for harmful keywords or phrases relating to the topic of self-harm or suicide. The online tool aims to reduce exposure to potentially harmful online content. Get updates all things R;pple by signing up to the monthly newsletter.
  4. Zero Suicide Alliance. The Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA) Resources website supports individuals, communities and organisations to meet people’s mental health needs before, during and after experiencing crisis – to ultimately prevent suicide in UK and beyond. Sign up to receive ZSA resources here.
  5.  Boys in Mind (Girls Mind Too) is a  B&NES based movement, set up as an outcome from the previous B&NES Suicide Prevention Strategy.  Now run by young people themselves, Boys in Mind work hard to support the mental health and wellbeing of boys and young men including through the development of films, work in schools, blogs and podcasts.
  6. The Stay Alive app is a pocket suicide prevention resource for the UK, packed full of useful information to help you stay safe. You can use it if you are having thoughts of suicide or if you are concerned about someone else who may be considering suicide.
  7. Making suicide part of the everyday conversation, HOPECAST is a podcast from UK charity, PAPYRUS Prevention of Young Suicide. By talking openly and honestly with a range of guests about suicide, mental health and emotional wellbeing, HOPECAST is smashing the stigma around suicide one conversation at a time.
  8. Bath Mind Breathing Space offers a calm, non-clinical service, supporting individuals experiencing or at risk of a mental health crisis. Email: breathingspace@bathmind.org.uk or call: 0808 175 1369. Lines are open 365 days a year between 5:30pm – 11:00pm.
  9. The Beside Project provides emotional and practical support to any individual living in B&NES who has recently may have a lost a family member or next of kin to suicide. Email beside.project@nhs.net or call 0117 909 6630
  10. Survivors Of Bereavement by Suicide (SOBS) have self-help support groups across the UK, where you can meet with other people who have been bereaved by suicide.  They provide an opportunity to listen, to share, to ask questions and to connect with others. To join the Bath SOBS group email: bath@uksobs.org Website: www.uksobs.org/groups/bath-group
  11. HarmLESS. – an Online information site about self-harm for B&NES professionals working with young people 11 -18 Includes an online assessment tool. Provided by B&NES CAMHS Service
  12. Shout - UK's 24/7 Crisis test service for mental health support. Text 'Shout' to 85258.
  13. Hopeline UK offers a safe space for those aged 35 and under to talk through anything happening in your life that could be impacting on your or anyone else’s ability to stay safe. 
  14. NSPA have a range of resources available to help people understand more about suicide prevention and bereavement support, who is affected and how people can be helped. 
  15. The Silver Line offers a helpline run by Age UK which is a free, confidential telephone service for older people. They provide friendship, conversation and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  
  16. Mind info Line is aimed towards non-English speaking community that provides information on a range of topics: Types of mental health problems, where to get help, medication and alternative treatments. They can provide an interpreter using language line in over 170 languages. Remember to ask for language line when you call. 

Best Mental Health Apps of 2023
If you have anything you would like to share in the quarterly suicide prevention newsletter, or would like to contribute to future newsletters, please get in touch using our email address below.

Our mailing address is:
suicide_prevention@bathnes.gov.uk 

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Find out more about the B&NES action plan and where you can access suicide prevention and bereavement resources, support, and training (including free online training by visiting: 
https://livewell.bathnes.gov.uk/supporting-adults-live-independent-lives/health-and-wellbeing/bnes-suicide-prevention 






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B&NES Suicide Prevention Partnership · Keynsham Civic Centre · Market Walk, Keynsham · Bristol, Avon BS31 1FS · United Kingdom

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