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Proud to be a member of the Zero Suicide Alliance

Posted: 12th November 2019

Yorkshire & Humber Academic Health Science Network is proud to be a member of the Zero Suicide Alliance.

The Zero Suicide Alliance is a collaborative of National Health Service trusts, businesses and individuals who are committed to suicide prevention in the UK and beyond.

The Alliance aims to improve support for people contemplating suicide by raising awareness of and promoting free suicide prevention training that is accessible to all.

Ruth Wilson, Programme Lead, said “Yorkshire and the Humber has significantly higher rates of suicide amongst both males (19 deaths per 100,000 males compared to the national average of 16.2) and females (5.7 deaths per 100,000 females) compared to the national average of five).

“We want to support the work being undertaken in suicide prevention by our local Integrated Care Systems and Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships. We  are  encouraging everyone to complete the free suicide prevention training either as individuals or in group settings.”

After completing the training, people will be able to understand what can cause people to have suicidal thoughts and recognise the early signs that someone may be feeling suicidal. This will enable them to have a conversation, whether this is with a friend, family member, a colleague, a member of the public or stranger who appears to be struggling with life, using these three steps:

See – Recognise why a person may be at risk of suicide and identify some of the signs.

Say – Talk to somebody if you are concerned and ask directly if they’re thinking about suicide.

Signpost – Help them to stay safe and direct them to useful resources

Research undertaken by Knapp, McDaid et al (2011) highlights that in England, the economic cost of an individual suicide is estimated to be in the region of £1.7 million.

In 2018, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded 577 deaths by suicide in Yorkshire and Humber (a 25% increase compared to 2017 with 462 deaths by suicide).

Further information on the Alliance can be accessed here