Resources for suicide and self-harm prevention practitioners
Below you’ll find links to a range of suicide and self-harm prevention resources and documents.
Links to general mental health resources can be found on our Mental Health Network Resources page.
Thematic Review: Deaths of Children and Young People through Probable Suicide 2013-2017
Child Death Review Programme
Everybody’s Business – A report on suicide prevention in Wales
National Assembly for Wales Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, December 2018
Responding to issues of self-harm and thoughts of suicide in young people: guidance for teachers, professionals, volunteers and youth services
Welsh Government, September 2019
Welsh Government fund a number of activities focussed on suicide prevention, including a strategy implementation team based in the national NHS Wales Executive (contact: sshp.cymru@wales.nhs.uk)
- The delivery infrastructure for prevention divides Wales into three regions, and each has a suicide and self harm prevention multi-agency forum: North Wales (Betsi Cadwaladr Health Board)
- Mid and West Wales (Hywel Dda, Swansea Bay and Powys Health Boards)
- South East Wales (Cardiff and Vale, Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and Aneurin Bevan Health Boards)
The terms of reference for each forum is based on this TOR template.
To support and strengthen each forum, and develop suicide and self harm prevention activity in each region, a regional suicide and self harm prevention lead role has been established (roles funded since September 2020):
North Wales
Deb Job, Regional Suicide and Self Harm Prevention Lead (hosted by Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board)
deborah.job@wales.nhs.uk
Mid and West Wales
Laura Tranter, Regional Suicide and Self Harm Prevention Lead (hosted by Hywel Dda University Health Board)
Laura.Tranter@wales.nhs.uk
South East Wales
Ceri Fowler, Regional Suicide and Self Harm Prevention Lead (hosted by Cardiff and Vale University Health Board)
Ceri.Fowler2@wales.nhs.uk
Further information on data and evidence relating to Mental Health, including suicide and self-harm (2017), can be found on the Public Health Wales Observatory website.
The national and regional team for suicide and self harm prevention was introduced during the COVID-19 pandemic, establishing their roles through extended periods of social distancing, national lockdowns, and home-based working. During this period, the national strategy ‘Talk to me 2’, due to end in 2020, was extended to 2022 by Welsh Government with a revised mental health and suicide prevention delivery plan (2019-2022).
To refresh the focus on priorities, the national programme lead worked collaboratively with other lead agencies to review the literature and policy landscape, and to develop a programme plan to support delivery on the ambitions set out in ‘Talk to me 2’, in the light of the additional capacity provided by the prevention team.
Download programme plan here
Download our plan on a page for 2020-2022
One of the outputs delivered by the new suicide and self harm prevention team has been a digital platform or ‘digital home’ for suicide and self harm prevention in Wales, with a focus on learning and development offers to workforces, both paid and voluntary, across all sectors in Wales.
This platform provides information and links relating to the evidence base, NICE guidance, learning and development offers from a wide range of training providers, information about myths and popular misconceptions about suicide and self harm, and use of language.