Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service

We are Norfolk’s Local Authority-led Fire and Rescue Service, providing fire safety advice, prevention and education, and service across Norfolk.

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

This is a new journey for us; having experienced a ‘suicide cluster’ in the final six months of last year, we are focused on being a national leader in our wellbeing and suicide prevention work.

What are your current priorities?

Workforce engagement: creating a culture in which suicide prevention and wellbeing can be openly discussed and support found and provided as needed.

Postvention support: ensuring those impacted by suicide are supported

Understanding and identifying risk: harnessing our understanding of prevention, with data and feedback structures to target and offer support as appropriate.

What challenges are you currently facing?

Culture change: challenging ‘traditional’ views and encouraging staff to talk about their problems and/or seek mental health support if they need it

Complex processes and communications creating barriers to accessing support

Organisational structure: Our fire and rescue staff are typically a harder to reach workforce, dur to primarily working on an on-call basis with secondary employment.