Agenda item

Report of Jane Fowles, Consultant Public Health and Steven Hill, Chair of Coventry Suicide Prevention Steering Group

The Board considered a joint report of Jane Fowles, Public Health Consultant and Steve Hill, Chair of the Coventry Prevention Steering Group, which provided an update on the delivery of the Coventry Suicide Prevention Plan 2016-19 (Not one more/ one is enough) and sought approval of the forward plan for 2020-21. Steve Hill attended the meeting for the consideration of this item. A copy of the 2016-19 Plan was set out at an appendix to the report along with the strategic statement and legacy for 2020-21.

The report indicated that whilst the strategy, vision and strategic priorities for the prevention plan remained current, the original action plan to November 2019 had been refreshed by the steering group and developed into a forward plan for 2020-21. Given the national and local Coventry and Warwickshire Health and Care Partnership focus on this agenda it was recommended that the planning process remained live and that national and regional policy development was incorporated as appropriate throughout 2020. Key activity would include:

·  LGA regional (and local) sector led improvement programmes

·  NHSE evaluation of wave one funded sites and HCP programme review

·  NHSE funding roll out for postvention support

·  Delivery and funding of the Long-Term Plan; primary care, acute and crisis transformation, underpinned by the clinical strategy for Mental Health and Emotional Wellbeing.

The report provided data information on the numbers of suicides across Coventry and Warwickshire between 2006 and 2016 with reference to patients with mental health issues. 

The Board were informed that in July 2018, the standard of proof used by coroners to determine whether a death was caused by suicide was lowered to the “civil standard” – balance of probabilities – where previously a “criminal standard” was applied – beyond all reasonable doubt. It was likely that lowering the standard of proof would also result in an increased number of deaths recorded as suicide and a potential discontinuity in the national data series.

The report referred to the Health and Care Partnership (HCP) NHSE funded suicide prevention programme. In 2018 the partnership received NHSE funding of £352,000 per year for two years as one of 8 wave one sites identified due to prevalence rates (Warwickshire’s rates have been consistently above the national average). The programme had included several proof of concepts projects and programmes, these had been incorporated into the delivery plan this year and covered:

·  Multi-Agency Training

·  It Takes Balls To Talk and Public Campaigns (Year of Wellbeing)

·  Support for individuals with concurrent mental health and substance misuse issues

·  Secondary and Primary Care pathways and training; risk management and safety planning

·  Digital developments – public facing apps, stakeholder and staff resources

·  Bereavement support research

·  Real Time Data & monitoring; multi-agency surveillance

·  Safe Havens (crisis support)

The HCP were part of a nationally commissioned evaluation of the NHSE funding which was in the early stages of reporting. The report detailed the interim findings.

The report detailed the key highlights from the year two strategic priorities which included:

·  Action plan refresh and alignment with Warwickshire and HCP joint priorities

·  Public Health England approval of the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health

·  Joint coroners audit process developed and undertaken with Warwickshire

·  Real Time Surveillance system planning initiated

·  Co-ordinated communications campaign including the launch of the stay alive app across the HCP area. Council workforce wellbeing communications programme launched by Martin Reeves

·  Multi-agency training on suicide prevention commissioned and delivered with training forum being established.

·  Co-production projects; men’s sheds and Coventry University research: survivor stories

·  Mindspace group work pilot trialled in Coventry

·  Partnership learning event/programme feedback for world suicide prevention day

·  HCP partners had presented the programme at a number of national events and would be running a workshop at the national Suicide Prevention Alliance Conference in January 2020.

The forward Plan for 2021 provided an overview of the local plan under the seven strategic goals.

Members discussed if the Year of Wellbeing which encouraged residents to take responsibility for their own health had had any impact on the work of the strategy. There was an acknowledgement that people were more comfortable talking about suicide and mental health.

RESOLVED that:

(1) The Forward Plan for 2020-2021 be approved.

(2) Agreement be given for the Board to receive annual reports and rolling plans.

(3) The reduced standard of proof for recording a death by suicide from July 2018 and the potential implications for increased recording in the national data series be noted.