Support for those Bereaved and Affected

by Suicide

Katie Donnelly Warrington Borough Council

Acknowledgement to Gina Perigo formerly of Liverpool City Council.

Impact of Suicide

It is an individual tragedy, life altering for those bereaved and a traumatic event for the community and local services involved.

May lead to:

• Long term psychological trauma• Destruction of social bonds• Reduced quality of life and increased ill health• Suicidal behaviour

It’s estimated that a further 6 people on average suffera severe emotional impact as a result of the death.

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Support for those bereaved or affected by suicide has been identified as a key area for action.

  

 

Policy Context

• Northern Ireland Model highlighted at 1st Summit

• Cheshire and Merseyside Suicide Reduction network (CMSRN) key priority:

• Providing effective and timely support for families bereaved or affected by suicide

• Having an effective local response to the aftermath of a suicide

• A task and finish group was established

 

Local Context

Task and Finish Group Sept 2013 – May 2014

• Secured commitment from both Merseyside and Cheshire Police

• A scoping exercise was undertaken to identify what support services are currently available.

• Explored a range of different options of provision:

1. ‘Help is at Hand’ Booklet2. Telephone Support Service e.g Samaritans3. Cornwall’s Suicide Liaison Service4. Community Response e.g. Northern Ireland and Australia’s

Models

• Developed a business case

Cheshire and Merseyside Proposal• Northern Ireland’s postvention model to be adopted

• Piloted over an 18 month Period

Expected Benefits/Outcomes• Reduction in number of deaths by suicide and attempted suicides

• Alleviate the distress of those bereaved or affected by suicide

• Reduce the risk of imitative suicidal behaviour and suicide clusters

• Promote the healthy recovery of the affected community

• Reduce the economic costs of suicide

Phase 1.

Formal Reporting and Surveillance of Suspected Suicides: • To develop data sharing protocols for the exchange of

information between agencies.

• Enabling the monitoring of patterns and trends of suicide in real time.

• Allowing agencies to share information so those bereaved can be referred to a service for support.

Phase 2: Liaison Service

Suspected Suicide

Police Gain Consent from family to contact Liaison Service (LS) via the form 97

Inform Coroner & Liaison Service

Telephone contact with family to arrange initial visit

Bereavement Support/emotional and practical support by LS

Referral to Secondary services eg . CMHT

Referral to Primary Care and Non-Statutory Support Services

Referral to Bereaved By Suicide Support Groups e.g. SOBS

Follow up visit within 1 week of death Assessment carried out of needs of clients

LS to inform local publichealth team

Phase 3. Purpose of Community Response Plan

• To prevent the development of clusters of suicides occurring in a local council area

• To facilitate early detection of such clusters

• To provide a timely response by all sectors of the community to address the problem and prevent further deaths occurring

• To provide a template for action that can be implemented in any council experiencing this problem.

Task and Finish Group June 14 – To Dec 14

• Funding secured from 8 local authorities across Cheshire & Merseyside – agreed by Directors of Public Health

• Service Specification developed and agreed using learning from Northern Ireland

• Procurement Process Undertaken

• Provider selected subject to contract

• Listening Ear selected as provider subject to contract

• Operational since 1992

• Established counselling/ support agency (Adult and CYP service)

• 1st BACP accredited agency on Merseyside (2004)

• Growing and ambitious social enterprise.

• Adult and CYP contracts with KMBC

• Specialist in bereavement support across all ages

• Based in Halewood, operational across Merseyside

Implementation Plan

• Implementation plan for a go live date of 1st April

• Overseen by task and finish group

• Plan includes:

• Marketing, Communications & Partnerships

• Stakeholder Engagement

• Workforce Development

• Info Sharing & Pathways

• I.T

• Information Governance

• Performance & Quality

Evaluation

• Service Monitoring

• Independent Evaluation exploring cost effectiveness

• Engagement with CLAHRC & Manchester University

Key Steps

• Developing a name for the service

• Recruitment of 3 liaison officers

• Logistical processes and data sharing with Cheshire and Merseyside Police

• Engagement with partners and stakeholders in particularly existing service providers

Contact Details:

Email kdonnelly@warrington.gov.uk

Tel: 01925 443059

Email richard.brown@listening-ear.co.uk

Tel: 0151 488 1614

07850476360