Oxfordshire County Council

Oxfordshire County Council public health team leads on mental health and suicide prevention for Oxfordshire.

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Our work in suicide prevention

Oxfordshire County Council’s Public Health team acts as a central point for suicide prevention locally and brings many organisations together through our Suicide Multi-Agency and Prevention Concordat groups. We utilise real-time surveillance data to monitor suicide deaths and use this to highlight priority areas of work.

We are currently reviewing our suicide prevention strategy and mental health and wellbeing framework, which will act as a guide for the coming years. We are not afraid to try new things and have recently been involved in setting up The Oxfordshire Men’s Health Partnership, which aims to reduce male health inequalities. We also commission a range of health and wellbeing services, including services for children and young people and adults.

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Our current priorities

Our current priorities include reviewing and refreshing our suicide prevention strategy and mental health and wellbeing frameworks. We aim to enhance the intelligence gathered from death inquests, using this information to improve the accuracy and effectiveness of our real-time surveillance system. Collaborating with local universities to address student mental health is another key focus. Additionally, we are implementing and monitoring several new contracts, including a comprehensive suicide prevention and mental health training programme for Oxfordshire.

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Our current challenges

We face several challenges, including addressing suicide rates and bridging gaps in our data and knowledge. The mental wellbeing and self-harm risks among children and young people are significant concerns. Ensuring our suicide prevention efforts effectively cover the breadth of a very large county adds to the complexity of our work. Additionally, improving the mental wellbeing of key groups, such as middle-aged men, individuals in the perinatal period, and students, remains a critical focus.

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