Government strategy to reduce suicide "long overdue" says mental health support group in Dorset
The plan outlines more than 100 measures to help save more lives going forward
A mental health support group for men on Portland has praised the government’s decision to provide male-dominated industries with mental health first aiders, hailing it a “really positive step forward”.
This is against the backdrop of middle-aged men having the highest rate of suicide compared to any other group of people since 2010.
It is part of the government's five-year suicide prevention strategy which outlines more than 100 measures to help save lives going forward.
Sam Watson, lead facilitator at Andy's Man Club Portland, said: “I worked in the construction industry for many, many years, and there's an ethos of men being men and not being able to talk and I think we need to move away from the stigmas and move into a culture where we can talk about what's going on.”
The plan focusses on prevention and early intervention with real-time surveillance of trends in suicide being implemented on a national level later this year.
Additional measures include a new alert system that will notify relevant institutions such as schools, universities and charities of emerging methods of suicide and new risks as well as how to tackle them.
Sam Watson told us: “I think education is the biggest thing we need to be looking at, understanding the warning signs we see in people when their mental health is declining and educating people around suicide prevention is a massive fact that needs to be picked up.”
Andy’s Man Club Portland are calling on the government to improve support services around those coming out of the military: “They’re left with nothing, and we’ve seen a big trend in loneliness and isolation amongst those coming out of the forces.”