Kent County Council

Kent County Council (KCC) is a top-tier local authority in the South East of England with a wide range of responsibilities and services covering the following services, social care, education, public health, transport, the environment (amongst many more). KCC’s Suicide Prevention programme is lead by its Public Health team which gives regular updates to elected members, cabinet committees and senior management teams about the programme.

How does your organisation contribute to preventing suicide and supporting those affected by it?

Our Public Health team chair and co-ordinate the Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention multi-agency Steering Group.

This involves leading the development and implementation of the Kent and Medway 5-year Suicide Prevention Strategy. The Strategy and associated action plan contains a wide variety of measures to prevent suicide and support those who are affected by it.

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What are your current priorities?

The 2021-2025 Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention Strategy can be viewed here.

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What challenges are you currently facing?

As well as continuing to invest in a range of suicide prevention initiatives we will also be strengthening our system leadership efforts to ensure we “bend the mainstream” so that clinical pathways, organisational practice, systems and structures are all working to identify high risk individuals, increase safety and save lives.

In particular, we will review and reshape the following pathways;

  • Mental health support for people impacted by domestic abuse,
  • Depression,
  • Self-harm in children, young people and adults,
  • Crisis care and
  • Co-occurring conditions
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