Future of mental health services discussed at major conference in England

Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg held a mental health conference today, where leading practitioners in the field, policy makers, charities and campaigners were invited to discuss the future of England’s mental health services.

The conference was co-hosted by Norman Lamb, minister of the state for care and support, who with Mr Clegg, asked all NHS trusts to help reduce the number people taking their own life by committing to a new initiative for ‘zero suicides.’ Some NHS trusts across England are already working towards ‘zero suicides,’ including Mersey Care in Liverpool, as well as trusts in the South West and East of England also committing.

Mr Clegg said: “Suicide is, and always has been, a massive taboo in our society. People are genuinely scared to talk about it, never mind intervene when they believe a loved one is at risk. That’s why I’m issuing a call to every part of the NHS to commit to a new ambition for zero suicides. We already know that this kind of approach can work in dramatically reducing suicides.

“This isn’t about blame. It is doing more in every area of our society to ensure that people don’t get to that point where they believe taking their own life is their only option.”

Mr Clegg hopes that encouraging the ambition of ‘zero suicides’ will prevent people from taking their own lives and asked the entire NHS to commit.

The ambition of ‘zero suicides’ has been devised to change how people are cared for by the NHS and how they are treated once they are discharged, it is hoped that by working closely with GPs, specialists, commissioners and public health experts the number of suicides will be reduced.

A similar programme was used in Detroit, USA and it is reported that as a result of the ‘zero suicide’ programme, nobody receiving care within the depression services has taken their own life in more than two years as well as reporting a reduced number of suicides in Detroit overall. The initiative includes a number of methods for health services to encourage to help to prevent the number of suicides in England.

Charity Samaritans work to reduce the number of people who die from suicide and report that the majority of people who have suicidal feelings, don’t want to die. The charity reported that during 2013, nearly 4,700 people died from suicide and of those almost 3,700 were men leading it to be the biggest killer of men under 50 in England.

Executive director of policy, research and development for Samaritans, Joe Ferns said: “Samaritans welcomes the Deputy Prime Minister’s commitment today to make suicide prevention the priority it should be. We are passionate about the need to reduce stigma and welcome the aspiration to treat mental and physical health as equally important – and want to see this ambition translated into action.

“Providing proper resources to tackle this issue, including acknowledging the importance of having someone to talk to for people who are struggling, is crucial. Samaritans encourages people to seek help early to try and prevent their feelings and problems becoming overwhelming.

“Too often services lack the funding required, meaning that not everyone has easy and quick access to high quality mental health services when they need it most. There are huge variations in suicide rates around the country and it is those areas suffering the most socio-economic deprivation which have the highest rates, which need tackling urgently.”

Mr Clegg has asked the health service to consider how Mersey Care, the South West and East of England are working towards ‘zero suicides’ through the care that they provide.

Guidance for health services includes encouraging a personal safety plan for patients, family members and friends so that they know where to turn if they are having problems personally or with a loved one, in addition to regular contact with patients after they move home.

Other processes include ensuring that safety systems match the standards of treatment for physical health, such as introducing processes for staff to follow if a patient is ruled as a high suicide risk, whilst linking all health services up to prevent at risk patients from being failed by the system.

Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb said: “When it comes to our physical health we believe the NHS should do everything possible to keep us alive and well – the same must be said for mental health.

“Suicide is not inevitable for people in crisis and these deaths can be prevented with the right care. Three areas have this vision already and are doing incredible things to improve and importantly to save lives. I want every part of the health service to be as ambitious.”

Mr Lamb added: “We all have a role to play. By talking openly about suicide we can remove the fear that stops people asking for help. We may feel uncomfortable, or frightened of saying the wrong thing, but if we tackle this stigma then we will save lives.”

The conference is part of Mr Clegg’s campaign to bring mental health problems and physical health problems in line with each other, previously Mr Clegg has introduced the Mental Health Taskforce and secured £550 million to invest in talking therapies and support for eating disorders in children and young adults.

Mr Ferns added: “Today’s announcement recognises that people need the right mix of services so that they do not fall through the cracks in the system and have access to appropriate support, including talking therapies and crisis care. Samaritans is available round the clock, every day of the year to support people who are finding it hard to cope.

“Samaritans also supports sharing best practice on suicide prevention to improve outcomes, as evidenced by our existing partnerships between our branches, the NHS, and the police around the UK and Ireland.”