Oxfordshire Mind

We are Oxfordshire Mind, your local mental health charity. We’ve been campaigning for better mental health in Oxfordshire for over 50 years with our campaigning and support services. Like all local Minds, we are an independent charity that is proud to be affiliated with the national Mind association. Oxfordshire Mind runs a range of services, from community based wellbeing services to supported housing. Oxfordshire Mind also work alongside Buckinghamshire Mind to support people in Berkshire West as part of Mind in Berkshire.

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

We actively take steps to support people to prevent suicide in all our services. These include an information and advice line, work supporting people at our community hubs via peer support groups and education and coping skills courses, our Safe Haven service and workers embedded in secondary care, amongst others. We take the risk of suicide seriously and work closely with clinical colleagues to manage risk and always put the individual at the centre of any safety planning and best practice guidance that we use. As well as supporting individuals at risk of suicide, we often work with people who have been affected by suicide and link with other local and national services that specifically support those who have been affected.

What are your current priorities?

– Running safe and appropriate services to support people with their wellbeing or mental health.
– Extending access to provide support and advice for as many people as possible in Oxfordshire.
– To ensure that we work to prevent suicide and reduce risk in all of our services and all our contacts with people who use our services.
– To collaborate with partners locally to help reduce risk and ensure staff are better prepared, as part of the local Suicide Multi Agency Group (Oxfordshire) and Suicide Prevention group (Berkshire).

What challenges are you currently facing?

– Challenges in terms of increased risk and acuity in service user presentation, across services, but in particular to our Safe Haven service.
– Challenges in terms of recruitment and retention of experienced/skilled staff
– Challenges in terms of financial pressures on the organisation
– Challenges in terms of defining and accessing the right level of suicide prevention and self-harm training for our staff