6 priorities to help save lives

As a member of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) we have played a leading role in supporting delivery of Scotland’s current Suicide Prevention Action Plan — Every Life Matters — which runs until 2021.

While the current plan has galvanised suicide prevention efforts across sectors, services and communities, there is still much more to do. The next Scottish Government must therefore commit to, and seek cross-party support for, a long-term national strategy that will build on the achievements of Every Life Matters and embed suicide prevention within national and local policy and services.

This strategy should not only continue efforts to strengthen support for people at the point of suicidal crisis but take ambitious action to address the underlying factors that contribute to suicide risk, through a greater focus on early prevention and intervention. It must also address some key areas omitted from the current strategy, such as reducing risk at locations of concern or from access to means.

It must be fully-funded, with a clear plan for implementation and ongoing evaluation to ensure its aims are realised. Crucially, this strategy must be shaped by people who have lived experienced of suicide and informed by stakeholders working across frontline services and the third sector.

Scotland’s commitment to prevent suicide and improve support for people in crisis and distress must be informed by the best possible data and intelligence. In particular, there need to be robust systems for gathering and sharing ongoing intelligence between agencies and services so that emerging risks and trends can be identified and addressed, quickly and effectively.

The next Scottish Government must ensure that the commitments set out in Every Life Matters to develop a universal system of review into deaths by suicide, improve data / evidence sharing and strengthen local suicide prevention plans, are fully realised and implemented. Scotland’s future suicide prevention strategy must build on this progress by outlining actions to embed data and intelligence sharing at a national and local levels and support a culture of continuous learning and improvement.

Self-harm is a serious public health issue that affects individuals and families across Scotland, but it is also one that is often hidden and poorly understood. Data from the Scottish Health Survey shows the proportion of Scots who have ever self-harmed has more than doubled over the last decade, while around 1 in 6 young people are estimated to have self-harmed . Despite this, self-harm is not a priority within existing mental health or suicide prevention policy.

Our recent report Hidden Too Long: uncovering self-harm in Scotland found that stigma around self-harm is often a barrier to seeking help while challenges around capacity, expertise and accessibility of frontline and specialist services may prevent people from getting the support they need.

The next Government should seek cross-party support in the new Scottish Parliament for a dedicated strategy to improve understanding of self-harm, strengthen support for those affected and address underlying causes. This strategy must work in tandem with wider suicide prevention, mental health and public health policy and be informed by people with lived experience of self-harm and those working across frontline services.

Inequality plays a significant role in increasing the risk of suicide, self-harm and poor mental health. Today, someone living in one of Scotland’s poorest communities is more than three times more likely to die by suicide than someone living in one of the most affluent communities. Similarly, rates of self-harm and indicators of poor mental health are also higher among people experiencing poverty and deprivation .

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to deepen and exacerbate existing inequalities, Scotland must take urgent action to recognise and address the impact of inequality on mental health. The next Scottish Government should work in partnership across the private, public and third sector, to develop compassionate, effective responses to anyone experiencing crisis or distress as a result of economic hardship, facilitating links between different support services.

This programme of work should include targeted interventions for groups identified as being at increased risk and consider a range of barriers to accessing support, including the particular needs of people living in remote and rural locations.

It is vital that work to develop a holistic approach to mental health and inequality is part of far-reaching action to ultimately reduce levels of inequality overall. If it is not, Scotland will continue to see the devastating impact of inequality on the mental health and wellbeing of individuals, families and communities.

In the first nine months since lockdown restrictions began in March 2020, 3 in 10 calls to Samaritans talked about loneliness and isolation — a 10% increase compared to the same period in the previous year. A growing body of external evidence suggests that levels of loneliness have increased among the general population during this period with young people more likely to report feeling lonely than other age groups.

Research shows that persistent loneliness can pose a significant risk to health and wellbeing and is associated with increased suicide risk, while strong social connections can act as a protective factor. It is therefore vital that the next Government takes preventative action to address the potential impact of an increase in loneliness and isolation resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. This should include targeted interventions for groups who were already at an increased risk of loneliness and isolation, for example: low-income middle-aged men, young people around life transitions and people living in remote or isolated communities.

Since the beginning of social restrictions, many voluntary and community groups have moved towards online delivery to support those they work with to stay connected. The next Government should invest in ongoing, community-led innovation to develop and sustain new models for reducing loneliness and isolation, including efforts to address digital exclusion. This investment should be backed by a framework for evaluation and knowledge-sharing to support adapting and extending examples of good practice.

Every day, Samaritans volunteers respond to around 10,000 calls for help. And they’ve been here to listen, 24/7, for anyone in crisis and distress throughout the coronavirus pandemic. This is just one of many examples where the third sector – often powered by volunteers — has worked to ensure the continuation of essential services and support.

Scotland’s third sector has proven itself to be a crucial partner in the coronavirus response and can play a critical role in Scotland’s recovery by delivering essential services as well as supporting capacity-building, employability and wellbeing through volunteering opportunities.

However, realising this potential requires sustained investment, recognising the significant and ongoing impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the sector. Research by the Scottish Charity Regulator found that 79% of charities said the pandemic had impacted their finances, while 70% said that the pandemic had negatively affected their beneficiaries.

In addition to sustainable investment to support core activities, the next Scottish Government should support coordinated action to remove barriers to volunteering and support diversity and inclusion so that more people and communities are empowered to play a meaningful role in Scotland’s recovery.