School nurses trained to spot suicides
Sue Learner
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
School nurses and teachers are to be trained to spot signs of suicidal thoughts so they can point young people towards specialist help, as part of a suicide prevention strategy for Wales.
The Welsh Assembly Government pledged to put together a strategy earlier this year after a spate of young people committed suicide in Bridgend.
Almost three-quarters of the people who commit suicide in Wales are unknown to mental health services in the year before they die. Young men remain the group most at risk.
Health minister Edwina Hart launched the strategy, called Talk To Me. She said: "We need to change the culture around mental health issues so that the signs can be identified, and support provided, at an earlier stage in order to reduce the rate of suicide and the numbers of those who self-harm."
The Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (Asist) programme run by Mind Cymru, is an integral part of the strategy. The charity hopes to train a teacher or school nurse in every secondary school in Wales to spot signs of mental distress and suicidal thoughts.
It is also running the Mental Health First Aid programme to train frontline workers across the children's sector on how to identify mental distress.
Paul Stockton, Samaritans' regional representative for Wales and the Marches, said: "We are really pleased with the strategy and over the next five years will be running a range of programmes as part of it. We are piloting a range of workshops aimed at 17-year-olds and a scheme for younger children where they can write letters to a correspondence group at the Samaritans. "
Other initiatives include a 24-hour phone and text service for people with mental health problems and campaigns to encourage people to be more open about their personal problems.
Funding of more than £400,000 a year for the 24-hour helpline and £100,000 a year for the Samaritans co-ordinator is being provided by the Welsh Assembly Government, while £1.7m for the training initiatives comes from Welsh Assembly Government and lottery funding.
Ruth Coombs, manager for change and influence at Mind Cymru, welcomed the strategy: "We are pleased with the monetary allocation and the focus on working with young people."
