Suicide prevention There were 781 deaths by suicide in Scotland in 2010. This equates to an age-standardised rate of 14.7 suicides per 100,000 people and is a slight increase compared to 2009, when there were 746 deaths by suicide and an age-standardised rate of 14.2 per 100,000 people. Based on three-year rolling averages there was an 13.8 per cent fall in suicide rates between 2000–2002, and 2008–2010. For many years, Scotland has had a significantly higher rate of suicide than other constituent parts of the UK. From the 1970s to the early 2000s there was a steady rise in Scotland’s suicide rate, particularly in younger men. Choose Life [external site], published in 2002, is the Scottish Government’s 10-year national strategy and action plan to reduce suicide in Scotland by 20 per cent by 2013. The strategy and action plan aims to ensure we take action nationally and locally to build skills, improve knowledge and awareness of 'what works' to prevent suicide, improve opportunities to prevent premature loss of life and provide hope and optimism for the future. It encourages partnership working and improved coordination between services. In October 2010, following a review of Choose Life, the Scottish Government published a refreshed strategy for suicide prevention, with revised and refocused objectives. Download the Report of the National Suicide Prevention Group from the Scottish Government's website. A designated National Implementation Team from NHS Health Scotland coordinates and supports development at the national level. Core functions include:
Each of Scotland's 32 local authorities is working on locally identified priorities that contribute to the single outcome agreement. The monitoring of suicide prevention activities is usually carried out by a local Choose Life Steering Group. Many areas have a Choose Life Coordinator who oversees the implementation of these activities. In general, local suicide prevention activities focus attention on:
As well as this, each NHS board in Scotland is responsible for ensuring that key groups of staff have undertaken appropriate suicide prevention training, and the Choose Life programme is supporting them to do this.
The desired outcome for suicide prevention is:
The refreshed objectives for suicide prevention, published October 2010, are: Objective 1: identify and intervene to reduce suicidal behaviour in high risk groups. Objective 2: develop and implement a coordinated approach to reduce suicidal behaviour. Objective 3: ensure interventions to reduce suicidal behaviour are informed by evidence from research and evaluated appropriately. Objective 4: provide support to those affected by suicidal behaviour. Objective 5: provide education and training about suicidal behaviour and promote awareness about the help available. Objective 6: reduce availability and lethality of methods used in suicidal behaviour.
Suicide prevention Choose Life and the then Scottish Executive commissioned two evidence reviews to inform suicide prevention work in Scotland:
The Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour: A Literature Review [external site] identified a number of important points: Risk factors: o mental illness o attempted suicide o substance misuse o epilepsy o certain personality traits o unemployment o poverty o some limited evidence of impact of menstrual cycle, pregnancy and abortion. Protective factors: o coping skills o high reason for living o physical activity and health o family connectedness o supportive schools o health treatment o employment o exposure to suicidal behaviour (not via media) o social values o religious participation (not for all). The Risk and Protective Factors for Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour: A Literature Review [external site] suggested that suicide prevention activity should:
Effectiveness of Interventions to Prevent Suicide and Suicidal Behaviour: A Systematic Review [external site] found that although the evidence base was focused on pharmacological interventions, some broader approaches showed positive outcomes:
Choose Life initiatives are also supported by an established programme of research and evaluation activity available on the Choose Life website [external site]. The initiatives include:
Suicide prevention Below you will find an example of how the seven original national objectives from Choose Life (2002) are being turned into local actions in Edinburgh:
Responding to immediate crisisObjective: To provide support and services to people at risk and people in crisis; to provide an immediate crisis response and to help reduce the severity of any immediate problems.
Longer-term work to provide hope and support recoveryObjective: To provide on-going support and services to enable people to recover and deal with the issues that may be contributing to their suicidal behaviour.
Coping with suicidal behaviour and completed suicideObjective: To provide effective support to those who are affected by suicidal behaviour or a completed suicide.
Promoting greater public awareness and encouraging people to seek help earlyObjective: To ensure greater public awareness of positive mental health and well-being, suicidal behaviour, potential problems and risks amongst all age groups; to encourage people to seek help early.
Supporting the mediaObjective: To ensure that any depiction or reporting by any section of the media of a completed suicide or suicidal behaviour is undertaken sensitively and appropriately and with due respect for confidentiality.
Knowing what worksTo improve the quality, collection and availability of information on issues relating to suicide and suicidal behaviour and on effective interventions to ensure the better design and implementation of responses and services and use of resources.
Self-harm Self-harm can be defined as ‘self poisoning or self-injury, irrespective of the apparent purpose of the act' and describes a wide range of things that people do to themselves in a deliberate and usually hidden way, which are damaging. See The Site [external site] for more information. It includes cutting, burning, scalding, banging heads and other body parts against walls, and hair-pulling, biting, and swallowing or inserting objects as well as self-poisoning. Although the true extent of self-harm is unknown, we know that, in Scotland, in 2009-10, there were 12,741 acute hospital stays where a diagnosis of self-harm was recorded. Evidence suggests that young people are more likely to self-harm than adults, although people who self harm come from all age groups and backgrounds. There are reports of very young children receiving help for self-harm. Consequently, the Scottish Youth Parliament has identified self-harm as a key priority for action in Scotland. Older people who self-harm have an increased risk of suicide. See the Choose Life website [external site] for more information. In Scotland there is a considerable amount of activity relating to prevention of self-harm, but there are widespread differences across local areas in definitions of what constitutes ‘high risk’ suicidal behaviour and in the range of activities which have been developed to address the problem. Self-harm is often used as a coping mechanism, and many young people who self-harm lack confidence, are extremely sensitive and have low self-esteem. There is a wide range of factors that might contribute to self-harming, including feeling isolated, relationships, poor body image, academic pressures, powerlessness, alcohol misuse, fear of losing control, and abuse, among many others. We currently lack a clear picture of the extent of activity across Scotland in relation to training, services, research and guidelines. In Towards a Mentally Flourishing Scotland, the Scottish Government committed to improving the knowledge and understanding of self-harm in Scotland and to preparing an appropriate response. The Government said that it would work with partners to:
A National Self Harm Working Group was established in August 2009 to take these tasks forward and to map out the next stage of activity in developing services and health improvement approaches. The Group’s work, including the consultation, resulted in the publication of the refreshed paper, Responding to Self-Harm in Scotland Final Report: Mapping Out the Next Stage of Activity in Developing Services and Health Improvement Approaches. Summary reports from the Scottish Government’s written consultation and the NHS Health Scotland/Choose Life consultation with key professional groups and with people with lived experience of self-harm can be found on the Choose Life website. back to top
The desired outcome for self-harm prevention is:
Self-harm According to Truth Hurts: National Inquiry into Self-harm among Young People [external site] while much can be done to address self-harm within wider strategies for mental health improvement, an effective response to young people who self-harm requires that self-harm is understood, and responded to as a specific issue. The report asserts that a comprehensive approach to self-harm requires both a broad, generic focus on improving mental wellbeing and behaviour-specific information, training and intervention. back to top
NICE Self-harm recommendations for England NICE clinical practice guideline number 16: The short-term physical and psychological management and secondary prevention of self-harm in primary and secondary care [external site] make a number of key priorities for implementation (NICE Guidelines are applicable in England):
back to top