Oldham launches new Suicide Prevention Plan
Date published: 10 September 2023
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day
A new plan to support positive mental health and wellbeing has been launched by Oldham Council today (Sunday, September 10), to coincide with World Suicide Prevention Day.
It's an important day to mark as in the UK every year over 700,000 people die by suicide, and in 2020 in England, 4,912 people tragically took their own lives.
Yet these figures only represent the tip of the iceberg, and for every recorded death by suicide, there will be many more people who have made attempts on their life, or who are struggling with harmful thoughts.
That's why this Suicide Prevention Plan has been written collaboratively by the Oldham Suicide Prevention Partnership, and with the help of people who live and work across the borough, including insight from our young people.
The Plan sets out an ambitious 10-year strategy, building on existing work across the borough.
It shows how it's a collective responsibility to create an environment that supports positive mental health and wellbeing, and breaking down the stigma around mental health, suicide and self harm.
Councillor Barbara Brownridge, Cabinet Member for Health and Social Care, said: "One death by suicide is too many.
"But deaths by suicide are not always inevitable, and with the right support, we can help people to recover from crisis, or better still, prevent people from reaching a crisis in the first place.
"To prevent deaths by suicide, communities must come together to make suicide prevention everyone’s responsibility.
"Only a third of deaths by suicide occur in people who have access to mental health services, highlighting the need for a system wide, public health approach.
"That's why I'm pleased that we've been able to launch this plan, with the help of our partners and residents, that has used all of the data and evidence at our disposal to have the biggest impact on the greatest amount of people across our neighbourhoods and communities."
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