It stresses the importance of services, communities, families and society working together to help prevent suicides. In practice this means, for example: that community and voluntary organisations are supported to deliver suicide prevention services; that sports clubs and faith groups are trained in suicide awareness and intervention; that justice services develop and implement self-harm and suicide prevention action plans; that primary health care is skilled and proactive in identifying and intervening with patients showing signs of suicidal behaviour; that there is closer working with addiction services; that schools know how to respond when a pupil is in emotional distress; and that those delivering public services to potentially vulnerable people are trained in suicide awareness.
The strategy encompasses:
- general population-based approaches designed to influence attitudes and behaviours such as help-seeking behaviour, restricting access to means of suicide, raising awareness and supporting responsible media reporting.
- targeted intervention such as training for health and social care staff and people working in the community, self-harm referral from emergency departments, self harm case management, improving risk management within mental health services, screening in health and substance misuse services, and supporting recovery in those who have made suicide attempts.
- crisis de-escalation and case management to prevent attempted suicide by people in mental health crisis and/or emotional or social crisis.
- postvention support for those bereaved or otherwise affected by suicide, and improving data collection and analysis in relation to suicide in order to inform service improvement.
Protect Life 2 - Suicide Prevention Strategy