An organisational response to an increase in suicides: a case study

Abstract

Purpose

This paper seeks to describe the development of a real time suicide alert system and to identify how, as a result, organisations were able to respond in a timely way to an increasing trend in suicides within the County Durham and Darlington area.

Design/methodology/approach

Between October 2008 and August 2009 an unprecedented concentration of suicides occurred in County Durham, North East England. As a result, an independent review of these deaths was conducted in 2009/2010. Recommendations from the review were implemented and included the development of a real time suicide alert system.

Findings

Following implementation of the real time suicide alert system in autumn 2010 a further significant concentration of cases was immediately identified. A total of 24 deaths were identified between September and December 2010. There was a wide geographical spread across County Durham and Darlington. The case profiles revealed a number of risk factors including recent bereavement, relationship difficulties and financial problems. In addition sleeplessness, low mood and problems associated with housing were also identified. Men under the age of 50 years accounted for over 63 per cent of the cases. An organisational response in County Durham and Darlington was triggered by the information provided via the real time alert. The response was framed by the case profiles, evidence from the literature and lessons learned from other areas in the UK that had also experienced an escalation of suicide cases. In January 2011 there were no further potential suicides in County Durham and Darlington and the three‐month rolling average number of suicides returned to below expected limits, and this remains the case as of December 2011. No direct correlation between the work of the response team across County Durham and Darlington and rate of suicides resuming within normal limits can be claimed, indeed many of the initiatives are still being evaluated but the organisation now has much better control over the ability to respond, characterised by timely evidence based interventions and improved partnership working.

Practical implications

The development of a local real time suicide alert system can reduce the delay in the reporting of potential suicides and can identify trends; it can also provide the basis for a timely organisational response.

Originality/value

This paper describes an innovative multiagency approach to the problem of delay in the notification of suicides. This will be of interest to commissioners and providers who may want to develop similar systems so that they can immediately identify an escalation of deaths due to suicide and respond in timely manner.

Citation

Burke, W., Colmer, D., Johnson, N., Leigh, J., Key, B. and Parker, C. (2012), "An organisational response to an increase in suicides: a case study", Journal of Public Mental Health, Vol. 11 No. 3, pp. 98-105. https://doi.org/10.1108/17465721211261905