Male Suicide – Turning the tide and making a difference
Raising awareness to reduce death by suicide.
Why did we carry out the study?
Healthwatch Leicester and Healthwatch Leicestershire are an independent voice for the people of Leicester / Leicestershire. Our role is to listen to the voice of the public and represent their views with commissioners and providers of services to influence service improvement where appropriate. We work with all communities and use feedback to help shape services and drive-up quality and improvement.
The context for this study was the increasing number of suicides in males year on year since 2013. Nationally the death by suicide figures reached a peak in 2019 with a death rate of 5,691 equating to 11 deaths per 100,000 population. The suicide rate for men is three times higher than that of women and this has been a consistent trend going back to the 1990s The figures for suicides in Leicester/ Leicestershire are consistent with the national picture and the gender split of 75% male to 25% female also mirrors national trends. Healthwatch decided to undertake this study because we believed that this was a project that could add value to the work already being done within the city/county through its suicide prevention strategy. The focus of our study was to look at the prevention services available, specifically,
how accessible they are to the male community as a whole,
identify any barriers to access, and gaps in services and’
suggest ways in which to raise the profile of services to make them more accessible to men in Leicester/ Leicestershire.
Give a voice to people who have used or attempted to use services to tell us of their experiences.
What did we do?
A key component of this work was to seek out and represent the experience and voice of men who have been affected by suicidal thoughts or actions for which they may or may not have sought help.
Throughout our study Healthwatch contacted many of the organsiations both statutory and voluntary across Leicester/ Leicestershire who are commissioned to provide suicide prevention services and some organisations who are not commissioned to provide services but who in the course of their work come into contact with men who have attempted or contemplated suicide due to mental health issues.
What were the main findings?
Through our contact with services, we found a real passion and commitment, and motivation, and some excellent services delivered through the framework of the Suicide Prevention Strategy and coordinated through the Suicide Audit and Prevention Group.
There were however gaps identified in the pathways particularly in data sharing, and knowledge of services to refer to and this was an issue for people providing services in the community in as much as potential opportunities to support people who were recently bereaved or people or people who had sought help via A&E or GP with suicide ideation or self-harm
Gaps were also identified in access to services for people in the BAME and LGBT communities. Whether these barriers were real or perceived uptake of services by these communities were generally low.
We spoke to 32 men These were mostly white males but reflected the demographic accessing services. We found that those who were currently receiving services valued them and found them helpful in managing their mental health. Peer support was valued highly in combating feelings of loneliness and isolation and making friendships.
Men who had no diagnosed mental health condition or any long-term mental health issues were the ones who were more likely to fall through the net. There was a distinct lack of knowledge amongst participants on what help was available or where they could go for help. They were also the ones who were reluctant to access formal services not wanting to be seen as a ‘patient’ receiving counseling, psychiatric care, etc. This is the group that should be targeted to raise awareness of the support available. These are likely to be men who access community leisure activities such as sports clubs, gyms pubs, etc.
What should happen next- key messages
Tightening of Pathways between NHS Trusts, GPs, and A&E and SAPG to improve coordination of services for those who self-harm or attempt suicide and present at GPs or A&E.
Mental health services to provide information about ongoing support when discharging patients from the service following a suicide attempt or self-harm so that people have options for support should this be required.
Information on where men can get help quickly and easily to be made available in an accessible way on the internet with a media campaign on how this can be accessed.
A campaign to raise issues of men’s mental health and suicide prevention targeted at men who do not access mental health services either through choice or who don’t meet the criteria for mental health support including key partners in public and commercial sector to be launched January 2022.
Consideration to be given by commissioners to allocating a specific budget to specialist providers of services to BAME groups and LGBT communities.
A project with Vita Minds, the Freedom Youth Club, EVA FM to create a soundtrack aimed at young BAME people sharing key messages about mental health, wellbeing, and suicide prevention