ADPH welcomes new suicide prevention strategy

Earlier today, the Government published a new Suicide Prevention Strategy, pledging to reduce the number of suicides in England within two and a half years.

The strategy emphasises the need to support people at an earlier stage and also focuses on providing support for children and young people’s mental health.

The Association of Directors of Public Health (ADPH) are pleased to see a strong emphasis on a number of new issues such as online safety and targeted support for a wider range of priority groups. However, although the ambition of the strategy is welcome, it fails to tackle the fundamental issue of funding.

Prof Jim McManus, ADPH President, said:

“That so many people in this country find themselves contemplating ending their own life means we have missed too many opportunities to support and care. We must get better at ensuring people get the support they need and are not stigmatised, so we avoid the devastating consequences suicide can have.

“There is a lot of excellent work happening at a local level by Directors of Public Health (DsPH) and their teams in partnership with local community groups and other organisations, yet disappointingly, out of around 160 actions in this strategy, only two involve local authorities (LAs).

“It is increasingly challenging to implement effective suicide prevention programmes given the consistent cuts to funding across the public health sector and we would welcome more recognition of the role DsPH and LAs play in the coordination and leadership of suicide prevention in local communities. This includes within the published Action Plan where there is currently very little mention of the vital role local authorities play.

“Ring-fenced funding for suicide prevention for local authorities has also now ended and while all of us want to continue funding successful projects, there are a multitude of competing demands on the [Public Health] Grant which mean that difficult decisions are having to be made. A suicide strategy is welcome but a strategy without funding will hinder our efforts to help and support people.

“In order to really make a difference, the Government must increase resources and commit to sustainable funding for already established, successful programmes alongside new initiatives. Only then will we be able to support more people and ultimately, save more lives.”

Ends