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Calling all North West politicians - We need
everybody's help!
SAMARITANS are calling on politicians
in the North West to make preventing suicide a priority in the places they
represent.
Samaritans offer a listening service to people who are struggling to cope, and
have found that the mental health and medical help available to those reporting
symptoms of anxiety and depression is inconsistent and can vary between
postcodes.
Samaritans are calling for all politicians, health professionals and agencies to
work together to formulate suicide prevention plans that are targeted at the
most vulnerable people in their areas.
Around a 3rd of local authorities in England currently do not have suicide
preventions plans, yet evidence suggests that they can save lives.
As part of these plans, health professionals collect detailed information about
suicides locally and work in partnership with the police and health
professionals to put into practice the most effective measures to protect and
support.
Samaritans believes suicide is not inevitable
but is preventable and collecting information about suicide, working in
partnership with other agencies will bring down the numbers of people taking
their own lives.
More than 4700 people in England took their own lives in 2014. The suicide rate
in the North West between 2012 and 2014 was 10.3 per 100,000, or 4.6 per 100,000
for women and 16.3 per 100,000 for men.
"We know that the measures recommended in local suicide prevention plans work.
The Government has already highlighted their importance by calling for all local
authorities to put them in place by 2017 in the Mental Health Taskforce report,
published in February. We need to highlight the areas which have been successful
using local plans, and encourage local politicians to champion them. Samaritans
is calling on local politicians to make implementing suicide prevention plans a
priority on this polling day." said Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland. |
