ALLIANCE responds to Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan

Informed by engagement with our members, the response calls for the strategy to prioritise lived experience and partnership working.

The ALLIANCE has responded to the Scottish Government’s consultation on a new Suicide Prevention Strategy for Scotland (this link will take you away from our website).

Our response is informed by consultation and engagement with our members and partners, and builds on our previous response to the Scottish Government’s questionnaire on the development of the new Suicide Prevention Strategy in November 2021.

Our key points and recommendations are summarised below:

• Policy coherence should be embedded throughout the strategy’s design, implementation and evaluation.
• The strategy should be explicitly based on equality, intersectionality, and human rights.
• The Scottish Government should engage with people with lived experience, families, unpaid carers and the third sector at the earliest opportunity when taking the strategy forward.
• Disaggregated data gathering, and intersectional analysis, should be undertaken to develop fully realised policies and practices that prioritise equitable access to mental health care, treatment and support for everyone.
• A robust monitoring and evaluation framework should be implemented, based on human rights and equalities principles.
• Third sector organisations, including Community Links Practitioners, should be included within the definition of mental health workforce. This must be backed by long term, sustainable and ongoing funding and resource.
• Information on suicide prevention should follow the Six Principles of Inclusive Communication, and should be available in multiple inclusive formats.
• Investment in community-based mental health and wellbeing services should be increased, including strategic investment to ensure that Community Links Practitioners are available in every GP surgery in areas of deprivation across Scotland.

You can read our full response via the links below.

Support links

We know that it can be difficult to read about experiences of suicide. If you feel that any of the issues raised in this consultation response affect you, the following sources of support may be useful:

Breathing Space (this link will take you away from our website)
Breathing Space is Scotland’s mental health helpline for individuals experiencing symptoms of low mood, depression, or anxiety, and offers free and confidential advice for individuals over the age of 18. They can be contacted on 0800 83 85 87, 6pm to 2am Monday to Thursday, and from 6pm Friday throughout the weekend to 6am Monday.

Samaritans (this link will take you away from our website)
Samaritans provide confidential non-judgemental emotional support 24 hours a day for people who are experiencing feelings of distress or despair.  You can contact Samaritans free on short code 116 123 or via email on jo@samaritans.org

NHS24 Mental Health Hub (this link will take you away from our website)
Telephone advice and support on healthcare can be obtained from NHS24 on the short code 111. The Mental Health Hub is open 24 hour, seven days per week.

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