Cornwall Council

Our work in suicide prevention

The Public Health team at Cornwall Council leads partnership work to prevent suicides, coordinated through a Multiagency Suicide Prevention Group, supported by a Suicide Surveillance Group.  Our work is reported to the Cornwall Health & Wellbeing Board.

We conduct ongoing suicide audit, supported by the Coroner, Police, Kernow CCG, Cornwall Foundation Trust and Drug and Alcohol Action Team. The purpose is to use learning from deaths within our population to prevent future deaths.

Our suicide prevention strategy is currently being refreshed, having last been ratified (by Cornwall Health & Wellbeing Board) in 2013. The strategy led to the commissioning of a Suicide Liaison Service to support people bereaved by suicide, subsequently evaluated by Public Health. We have been delivering ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) at no charge since 2009, with the aim to build a robust safety network across the community.

We are active partners in the South West Zero Suicides collaborative. We jointly (with Cornwall Foundation Trust) lead the Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Towards Zero suicides programme and regularly communicate with our network  through engagement events and a ‘Towards Zero’ newsletter.

Our current priorities

We have recently changed the remit of our Suicide Audit Group, which looked retrospectively at cases of suicide that had already been examined at inquest. We are now trying to collect information much sooner after the incident, in order to have a more timely insight into local suicides and to be alert to changing trends or potential clusters.

Cornwall Council’s Health Promotion Service plays a key role by delivering a comprehensive range of mental health-related training. These courses include Mental Health First Aid, Mental Health Awareness and Understanding, Mental Fitness and Dealing with Pressure, and Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST). This training is coordinated and funded by Cornwall Council’s Public Health and Health Promotion Service, with delivery supported by trainers from partner organisations. One to two courses are offered free of charge each month. Additionally, the Royal Society for Public Health Level 2 Award in Mental Wellbeing is available, further enhancing local capacity to promote mental health and wellbeing.

Our current challenges

The relatively high local suicide rate is of great concern to our organisation and partners. But, despite a willingness to engage, we all face competing demands. All agencies appear to be trying to do more, within fewer resources, and sometimes this work is not given the priority that we would like.

Funding is a challenge. This is particularly true regarding mental health services, which are very stretched.  Community and voluntary services are highly valued but they find it increasingly difficult to access funding.

Suicide audit is a time consuming process, collecting information from a range of sources and relying on the goodwill of participants. All areas appear to conduct audit in different ways. It would be useful if there were national guidance of good practice to follow.

We need a stronger evidence base for what works in preventing suicides. We try to evaluate our own interventions but with limited resources.