Zero suicide southwest UK initiative – Steps to mitigate suicide risk in local populations using quality improvement methodology and a whole life approach

Abstract

Background

Only 25% of people who die by suicide see mental health services. Suicide is not just a health issue. Its causation and consequences lie within all of society. Many erroneously believe that suicide is inevitable and not preventable, because its causation is too complex. Underlying associations with suicide are largely social. There are programmes in the USA, which have combined interventions to reduce suicides. The 2014 UK suicide rate per 100,000 was 10.8 but 11.1 in South West (SW) England (pop: 5 million). A whole system approach is necessary. Zero Suicides SW is a project to address this.

Aim

(1) To develop a regional strategy to reduce and prevent suicide. (2) To make whole populations suicide risk aware. (3) Reduce regional suicide rates.

Method

A collaborative involving national and local 60 organisations including charities and voluntary sector was formed. Five collaborative meetings used narratives of suicide survivors, national experts led themed workshops, etc. to come up with a regional strategy. Quality Improvement (QI) Methodology was used to develop and examine the success of all projects.

Outputs

Initiatives such as using local radio stations for mental health promotion, collaboration via a poster campaign with local breweries and pubs to make men more self-aware of risk, suicide risk counselling for relatives/carers of patients admitted to psychiatric care, improving scrutiny to access to medication for recently discharged psychiatric patients have developed from the project. The QI model demonstrated how localised changes at person and organisation level could combine and have a powerful role in suicide prevention.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.