Agenda item

This report provides the Health and Wellbeing Board with an update on new funding of £667,978 that has been secured for suicide prevention work across the Kent and Medway Sustainability and Transformation Partnership (STP) area in 2018/19. The report provides the Board with an overview of how the additional funding will be used.

Discussion

The consultant in Public Health outlined to the Board that £667,978 had been secured for suicide prevention work across the Kent and Medway STP for 2018/19. This work would build on the suicide prevention strategy and existing programmes delivered by the Public Health team, such as Mental Wellbeing Training and the Men in Sheds programme, set out at section 3 of the report.

The Board was advised that across both male and female cohorts the rate of suicide in Medway was similar to the rate nationally. Generally males were at a higher risk of suicide and within the male cohort, young and middle aged males had particularly high suicide rates. The Board was also advised that there was a national target to reduce the number of suicides by 10% by 2020/21, which roughly translated to 14 fewer deaths across Kent and Medway.

It was noted that the majority of the funding would be used for community based prevention and early intervention programmes which would be overseen by a multi-agency Suicide Prevention Steering Group. It was explained to the Board that there would be eight categories of intervention programmes and these were set out at paragraph 4.2 of the report.

A Member expressed a view that suicide was interrelated with mental health and funding might be more usefully spent on mental health care. It was explained to the Board that mental health was a risk factor for suicide but that there were a number of other different risk factors, for example unemployment and high levels of isolation.

Clarification was sought on the breakdown of funding across the eight categories of intervention programmes and the rationale for the distribution and prioritisation of funds. A view was expressed that owing to the amount of money available it might be spread thinly across all eight areas and it was suggested that it might be better to focus funding on key programmes. The Board was advised that the Steering Group had a good understanding of risk factors for suicide and based on the evaluation of evidence on effective intervention identified the eight categories of interventions. It was noted that one of the high risk groups were those who had contact with specialist mental health services and as a result circa £120,000 of the available funding would be spent on specialist mental health services in Kent and Medway to develop and implement a Zero-Suicide Action Plan. It was added that on 24 July 2018 Kent and Medway colleagues would be meeting with the national team who had expertise in suicide prevention and the intention was to work with them to ensure the prioritisation was correct. Whilst the breakdown of the funding was not available for the Board at the meeting, the Consultant in Public Health undertook to provide the Board with this additional information.

A Member commented that the Men in Sheds project based in Gillingham was very successful. However, concern was expressed that it was not accessible to residents in more rural areas of Medway, including the Peninsula. It was requested that the parish councils be involved in the innovation fund in order to gain an understanding of matters affecting their localities.

In response to a question concerning training for support groups and charitable organisations, the Board was advised that the Steering Group would develop a training plan which would include the voluntary sector.

In response to a question concerning the mechanisms in place to monitor the use of the funding and measure the outcomes of the Suicide Prevention Programme, it was explained to the Board that each of the eight categories of intervention programmes would be subject to individually designed evaluation methods and that there would be a national evaluation of programme outcomes which would be undertaken by central government. Asked whether this evaluation could be presented to the Board, the Consultant in Public Health undertook to liaise with the Steering Group to identify suitable timescales for presenting this to the Board.

A Member expressed concern over the 10% national target to reduce suicides and stated that a target rate of zero suicides was more appropriate.

Decision

The Health and Wellbeing Board:

a)    noted the update on arrangements to utilise the new funding to prevent and reduce suicides in Kent and Medway; and

b)    noted that the Consultant in Public Health would liaise with the Suicide Prevention Steering Group to identify a suitable timescale to revert back to the Board with a report which presents the evaluation of the Suicide Prevention Programme.