Case studies

In Bournemouth, a cluster of suicides linked to the railways led to targeted action by public health, council, transport and community partners. The response included a strong focus on communications, helping to change how the local media reports on suicide and mental health.

The two London boroughs of Camden and Islington have used some of their suicide prevention funding to provide a dedicated psychotherapy service for young adults leaving care. Tailored support is delivered in community settings through a local voluntary sector partner, the Brandon Centre.

Mid and South Essex residents who are newly diagnosed with depression can be referred to a ‘Wellbeing Calls’ service which provides additional support in the first few weeks after diagnosis. Delivered by two local voluntary sector partners, the service supported almost 700 people in the year 2022/23.

Through the local authority public health teams in Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin, a proportion of the NHS England suicide prevention funding was allocated to develop a suicide bereavement service. This provides emotional and practical support to people affected by a suicide, possible suicide or sudden and unexplained death.

West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership is working to ensure that people who have been affected by suicide can help to shape the training, support and resources on offer. One project has been looking to reduce the risk of suicide within West Yorkshire’s Gypsy and Traveller community.

The Hope service provides psychosocial and practical support for men aged 30–64 who are at risk of suicide, advising them in relation to any money, employment, benefit, or housing problems they may identify.

The Psychosocial Engagement Team service was developed as a six-month pilot project, where referrals were made by A&E mental health liaison teams into a six to eight week programme focused on problem-solving and support. In six months, 100 referrals were made, with 85 per cent engagement. The pilot has been evaluated and embedded into the mental health pathway. This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.

Like many areas, reaching and engaging middle aged men in suicide prevention activities is an important objective for the Champs Public Health Collaborative. The Collaborative commissioned Everton in the Community and Edge Hill University to conduct an evaluation of funded projects and a rapid evidence review of the effectiveness of these interventions. This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.

From March to October 2021, there was a reported increased in the number of suicide attempts, fatalities, and interventions at Stevenage train station. A Task and Finish Group was set up to quickly explore what support could be offered locally to people in crisis at the station. A NightLight crisis café has been opened close to the station, with 108 visits in the first month alone. This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.

The Kent and Medway Suicide Prevention (SP) team have been conducting unique research into the links between domestic abuse (DA) and suicide since 2019. Using Real Time Suicide Surveillance (RTSS) data supplied by Kent Police, our research has shown that approximately 30 per cent of all suspected suicides in Kent and Medway between January 2019 and January 2022 have been impacted by domestic abuse (either as a victim, perpetrator or as a young person. affected by the abuse). This case study was done jointly with the National Suicide Prevention Alliance and forms part of our suicide prevention resource.