1a. Does your council have a multi-agency suicide prevention partnership in place? Please answer either Yes or No.
Yes
1b. Please give details as to the partnership(s) in place?
Currently Devon County Council hosts and facilitates the Devon and Torbay Suicide Prevention Steering Group. It meets 3 times a year and has a wide strategic membership: Police, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, Devon Prisons, NHS Devon Clinical Commissioning Group, Devon Partnership Trust, Office of the Police Crime Commissioner, Probation, Torbay Council, Devon County Council, Plymouth City Council, Exeter University, Child Adolescent Mental Health Service, Community Farm Network, University of Exeter, Action To Prevent Suicide, The Devon Suicide Prevention Alliance.The role of the group is to oversee the delivery of the Suicide Prevention Action plans for Devon and Torbay respectively
2a. Who has the council identified as being at-risk of suicide in your area? Please be specific in your answer by providing details such as gender, age, ethnicity and socio-economic status etc.
The profile of populations at risk is in line with the national profile:
Middle aged Men are the highest population group that die from suicide
There has been an increase in Suicide among young people under 25 of both sexes
Although three times more men die by suicide than women, there has been an increase in women ending their lives by suicide
As well as gender and age, other known risk factors for suicide include self-harm, mental illness, employment status, marital status and physical ill-health, debt, relationship breakdown, chronic pain, waiting times for services and loneliness/ social isolation.
2b. How does your Suicide Prevention Plan target the above group(s)?
Action plan is aligned to the National strategy and identifies action within the 7 priority areas. First priority is to reduce suicide in high risk groups. It takes a public health approach; focus on reducing health inequalities.
3a. What data do you collect on attempted suicides in your area?
None
3b. Is this data shared? Please answer either Yes or No.
No, please see the response to Question 3a.
3c. Which organisations is this data shared with? Please list them.
Please see the response to Question 1b.
4a. How is the council supporting those people bereaved, or affected by, a suspected suicide?
The council has supported a local suicide bereavement support service charity. In 2019 The Wider Devon Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) (Including Plymouth and Torbay) who are part of the suicide multi agency partnership and have been supported to attend training on ASIST were awarded funding from NHSE to expand suicide bereavement support service across Devon. It is anticipated that this funding will be recurrent and for the life of the NHS Long -Term Plan. We also support a local Charity – Pete’s Dragons, a suicide bereavement support service, since its inception by providing funds for the CEO to become an ASSIST Trainer and provide the charity with an income stream, access to resources and support with fund raising.
4b. How is the council supporting women, aged 10 and above?
The council do not currently provide any specific services specifically around suicide prevention for women, however Public Health does commission a range of services across the population including Public Health Nursing, Sexual Health Services and Early Help 4 Mental Health. EH4MH provides face-to-face support for young people aged 11 and over seeking help for supporting their emotional health and wellbeing. This service is consistently supporting about 70% females and 30% males across a range of emotional health issues.
5a. Has the council identified high-frequency suicide locations? Please answer either Yes or No.
Yes
5b. What steps have been considered or taken to reduce the risk of suicide at such locations?
Working in partnership with external agencies to look at both structural interventions and signage, including supporting the development of ‘The Letter of Hope’ written by people with Lived experience. Access to suicide prevention training for organisations such as the RLNI, English Heritage etc. Support for communities living near high frequency locations.
6a. How much money has been allocated to suicide prevention each financial year, since the launch of your Suicide Prevention Plan, until 2018/19?
There is no ring fenced Devon County Council budget line specifically for suicide prevention, but officer and other resources have been allocated to work on suicide prevention funded from the ring-fenced Public Health grant. Additional monies for training have been secured through Health Education England. There is National Health Service England (NHSE) Funding of £235,00 per year available from 20/21 until 22/23 for the STP area (Devon, Torbay, Plymouth)
6b. How much money of said budget has been spent and unspent in each financial year?
Please see the response to Question 6a.
6c. How much money of said budget has been spent and unspent in each financial year to support the at-risk group(s) identified in Q2a?
Please see the response to Question 6a.
6d. Please can you provide a full breakdown of how you spent suicide prevention funds in each financial year?
Please see the response to Question 6a.
7a. How much money has your council allocated to mental health generally in each financial year, since the launch of your Suicide Prevention Plan, until 2018/19?
Devon County Council supports a wide range of activity related to improving people’s mental health. The Council website budget pages place both the budgets set and the revenue and capital outturn position in the public domain and can be viewed on the link provided.The money allocated to mental health from Public health has paid for a Public Health Specialist to lead on Public Mental Health Initiatives for the council. This includes leading on Suicide Prevention, supporting the implementation of the Prevention Concordat for Better Mental Health and working with HR to support workplace wellbeing approaches and rolling out of Connect 5 training across Devon. Ad Hoc funding through Health Education England has enabled the council to training people to deliver a range of Suicide Prevention Courses and support the roll out of Connect 5 training. The Sustainability and Transformation Partnership has also awarded monies for a three-year men’s Mental Health Project for Devon Torbay and Plymouth.
7b. How much money of said budget has been spent and unspent in each financial year?
Please see the response to Question 7a.