Kirklees Council Public Health

One of these programmes is the Mental Health Programme. The Mental Health Programme aims to prevent and reduce suicide in the local population, supporting people to access mental health support. The suicide prevention action plan sits within the public mental health programme that aims to improve mental health and wellbeing across the life course at a population level, focusing on the protective factors.

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

The local suicide and self-harm prevention group (Suicide Prevention Action Group – SPAG) run by Public Health is a multi-agency group involving Kirklees Council, NHS, statutory and voluntary sector partners. The key purpose of the SPAG group is to ensure that there is a co-ordinated and integrated multiagency agreement on the delivery of this plan and that it is tailored appropriately to meet local need. The aims are to contribute to a reduction in the numbers of people that take their own life by suicide, and to improve the emotional health and wellbeing of our most vulnerable groups. As a group we are committed to working within six key areas for action (listed below) our local action plan sets out what work is involved in order for us to achieve these.

1. Reduce the risk of suicide in key high-risk groups.
2. Tailor approaches to improve mental health in specific groups.
3. Reduce access to the means of suicide .
4. Provide better information and support to those bereaved or affected by suicide or self-harm, encompassing the needs of family members; carers and friends of people who display self-harm and suicidal ideation behaviours.
5. Support the media in delivering sensitive approaches to suicide and suicidal behaviour.
6. Support research, data collection and monitoring.

What are your current priorities?

Six key areas for action (listed below) our local action plan sets out what work is involved in order for us to achieve these.
1. Reduce the risk of suicide in key high-risk groups.
2. Tailor approaches to improve mental health in specific groups.
3. Reduce access to the means of suicide .
4. Provide better information and support to those bereaved or affected
by suicide or self-harm, encompassing the needs of family members; carers and friends of people who display self-harm and suicidal
ideation behaviours.
5. Support the media in delivering sensitive approaches to suicide and suicidal behaviour.
6. Support research, data collection and monitoring.
There is a specific focus on Men (particularly middle aged men and also a focus on self-harm.

In order to achieve these, we are:
1. Working in partnership with local government to embed their local suicide prevention plans in every community.
2. Delivering our ambition for zero suicide in mental health inpatients and improving safety across mental health wards and extending this to whole community approaches.
3. Addressing the highest risk groups including middle-aged men and other vulnerable groups such as people with autism and learning disabilities, and people who have experienced trauma by sexual assault and abuse.
4. Tackling the societal drivers of suicide such as indebtedness, gambling addiction and substance misuse and the impact of harmful suicide and self-harm content online.
5. Addressing increasing suicides and self-harming in young people; and
6. Improving support for those bereaved by suicide.

A partnership approach is key to achieving the above and ensuring we have support and involvement from key organisation across community and 3rd sector organisations as well as trusts, police and people with lived experience.

What challenges are you currently facing?

Around three quarters of suicides occur in men, and a quarter in females, with most being heterosexual. However, less predominant genders and sexualities remain at risk of suicide.

A much higher proportion of suspected suicides are unemployed than the general population in Kirklees, of those in employment, low-wage, skilled-manual, and self-employed work seems especially well represented.

Around half of those who died from suicide had a history of self-harm, a similar proportion had a history of attempted suicide. The challenge for us is to increase community support for people who self-harm, who do not accept support in secondary care.