Thursday 2nd September 2010
During Suicide Prevention Week (6–12 September) West Dunbartonshire Council and partners are to hold a Choose Life Consultation event in Clydebank Town Hall on Friday 10 September.
The event, which is aimed at local partners, will include speakers from Choose Life, Breathing Space, Strathclyde Police, AMP Stress Services, PACE Theatre Company and key members of Council staff from a range of services.
The event will start with a presentation by Alana Atkinson, National Programme manager at Choose Life Scotland, followed by a talk by Alison Gardiner, Senior Education Psychologist andClaire Hubler, Health Development Officer.
Strathclyde Police will talk about managing the operational role of the Police in response to a suicide related incident in the community, and Breathing Space will discuss suicide prevention signage on the Erskine Bridge.
In West Dunbartonshire, more than 2000 people have been trained in a range of suicide prevention skills. One in 200 people across Scotland are equipped with the skills to recognise the warning signs of suicidal thoughts and the confidence to explore these signs.
Keith Redpath, Director of West Dunbartonshire Community Health and Care Partnership said: “National Suicide Awareness Week is important to us in West Dunbartonshire because it gives us an additional opportunity to publicise the issue locally as well as the work we are doing to prevent and reduce suicides.
“Statistics just released show that there were 14 suicides in West Dunbartonshire in 2009, considerably down on 29 suicides that occurred in 2008. We cannot of course be complacent and we are committed to continuing our programmes of training frontline staff in self harm and suicide intervention skills. Over the past 6 years we have trained more than 2000 people and we intend to train another 300 staff this year. We are particularly encouraged by the work that our schools are doing in promoting positive mental health. The Seasons for Growth Programme which helps young people build emotional resilience particularly around times of loss, has been commended nationally.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank our partners in the Council, NHS, Strathclyde Police and the voluntary sector and community sector who all contribute to the goal of supporting individuals and families and reducing suicides in West Dunbartonshire.”
Convenor of Social Work and Health, Cllr Ronnie McColl said: “This conference is an ideal way to showcase the good work currently being done in West Dunbartonshire and it is very encouraging that the number of suicides has fallen in 2009.”
He continued: “It is important that people are aware of the help that is available to them and I would urge anyone who is feeling suicidal to seek help or contact one of the helplines. Suicide is everyone’s responsibility and hopefully by working together we can further reduce the number of suicides in West Dunbartonshire for 2010.”
