Report of the Director of Public Health and Professor Nav Kapur, University of Manchester

This report provides the Committee with an update on the paper on suicide prevention submitted in December 2019 and specifically reports progress on the delivery of the local Suicide Prevention Plan (2017 - 2019) and on the development of a refreshed plan for 2020 – 2024.

The Committee considered the report of the Director of Public Health and Professor Navneet Kapur, Head of Research at the Centre for Suicide Prevention, University of Manchester that provided the Committee with an update on the paper on suicide prevention submitted in December 2019 and specifically reported progress on the delivery of the local Suicide Prevention Plan (2017 - 2019) and on the development of a refreshed plan for 2020 – 2024.

Key points and themes in the report included:

·         The national and local strategic context of suicide prevention;

·         Key trends, facts, figures and risk factors relating to suicides in Manchester;

·         The COVID-19 pandemic and suicide risk;

·         A summary of key areas of activity contributing to suicide prevention; and

·         Progress on delivery of actions within the local plan.

Some of the key points that arose from the Committee’s discussions were: -

·         Welcoming the report and noting that it provided a useful context for the subject area;

·         An explanation was sought as to why suicide rates in Manchester had fallen;

·         Welcoming the stated commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant to support veterans and their families and enquired if any additional support was available for this cohort;

·         Was Greater Manchester Police (GMP) a member of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership;

·         Suicide awareness training should be extended to as many front-line staff as possible, noting that Further Education providers should also be included in this;

·         How was success to be measured against the pillars articulated within the Action Plan;

·         Recommending that Manchester should participate in the reported pilot for the collection of key ‘real time’ data, co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Suicide Prevention lead;

·         What alternatives were there for residents experiencing crisis or at risk of crisis for whom traditional services were not appropriate or preferred; and

·         Noting that Manchester was a Marmot City and this understanding and approach to tackle health inequalities would support the ambitions of the city to address incidents of suicide.

Professor Kapur, Head of Research at the Centre for Suicide Prevention, University of Manchester stated that suicide was a very complex issue, commenting that it was an intensely personal expression of acute distress. He informed the Members that the accepted term to describe such tragic events was ‘died by suicide’ rather than ‘committed suicide’. He described that nationally the rates of suicide had reduced, stating that the accepted national drivers were economic factors, public health factors and the delivery of clinical service, adding that good progress had been achieved in Manchester to improve these. He described that the impact of the pandemic, both in the immediate and long term would be closely monitored.  

Professor Kapur commented that the specific needs of veterans was understood and was a live issue with work ongoing. In regard to how success was to be measured he advised that the levels of self-harm were an indicator of suicide rates and trends across the population.

Professor Kapur stated that Manchester had progressed significantly in its understanding and response to the issue of suicide and paid tribute to the work of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership.  

The Programme Lead, Manchester Population Health Team advised that the delivery of suicide awareness training to front line staff, including call centre staff and homelessness workers was an ongoing project, noting that during the pandemic this had continued to be delivered online. The Locality Manager advised that staff were trained and encouraged to engage in conversations on suicide, recognise trigger signs and escalate when appropriate. She described that there was a good relationship across the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership and good practice and experiences were regularly shared across staff and teams. 

Charles Kwaku-Odoi, Caribbean & African Health Network, described the programme of delivering training across the Voluntary Community and Social Enterprise (VCSE) partners. He stated that despite the pandemic this had continued to be delivered virtually and the challenge to partners was to understand and address the reasons and barriers as to why people did not access services.

The Programme Lead, Manchester Population Health Team confirmed that GMP were a member of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership, adding that they had their own suicide prevention training. In response to the point raised regarding the GM pilot and real time data, she advised that in Manchester a good relationship already existed with the local Coroner and those in the neighbouring boroughs, however consideration would be given as to how the Manchester data could contribute to the pilot. She further commented that data from the North West Ambulance Service was now available. 

In response to the discussion regarding alternative services and support for residents, Professor Kapur commented that all services needed to be fit for purpose and appropriate for those people accessing them, adding that this was national issue. The Director of Public Health commented that alternative routes of support and pathways were available, such as Be Well services and Social Prescribing, noting that the Committee would be receiving a report on this subject at a future meeting. He further commented that the recommendations of the Marmot Review were understood and incorporated into this important area of work.

The Deputy Leader advised the Committee that she was Chair of the Manchester Suicide Prevention Partnership and provided testimony to the positive and committed approach by all of those involved. She described that significant progress had been achieved over the years in the city on the issue of suicide and stated that this learning and good practice was shared across Greater Manchester. The Deputy Leader concluded by thanking all involved in this important activity of work.

Decision

The Committee recommend that consideration is given to Manchester contributing to the Greater Manchester pilot for the collection of key ‘real time’ data co-ordinated by the Greater Manchester Suicide Prevention lead.