Mental health charity Martin Gallier project in Wirral helps reduce A&E pressures

Video report by Merseyside correspondent Andy Bonner

A project to prevent people taking their own lives has helped reduce those returning to A&E by almost 75%.

The Martin Gallier Project, in Wirral, aims to support the families of people who feel suicidal and save lives.

It has made an incredible 20,000 suicide interventions in just four years.

The charity has also been partnering with Cheshire & Wirral Partnership NHS for almost a year offering the urgent crisis support, which usually happens at Arrowe Park Hospital A&E.

The project is now gearing up for its busiest time, as demand increases at Christmas.

Jessica Gallier-Booth, CEO and Founder, said: "We market Christmas as the most wonderful time of the year, don't we?

"Yet for so many people, it's it's the most difficult and some of the darkest days for them.

"It's really really difficult this year especially.

"We are braced but we've already seen all the effects of people struggling this Christmas. And we've been extremely busy."

This had lead to a 73% decrease in people returning to the emergency department.

Jessica added: "We've got a cost of living crisis. We're still feeling the effects of Covid. The NHS isn't able to keep up with that purely because the demand is so high.

"I think it's really important that we have these initiatives and these partnerships within the third sector and within the community to be able to take some of that pressure away from the NHS so that people get the support that they need.

"It's working for the NHS, it's working for us, and most importantly, it's working for the people that come to see us.

"So those people often re-attend at A&E in a couple of weeks time because nothing's been resolved and they find themselves back at crisis point.

"By us taking up that piece of work and doing that piece of work within the community is freeing up resources at A&E."

Every person that works has been affected by suicide. Deryn Basnett got help after losing her brother to suicide and she now oversees the project.

Deryn said: "We see people at the lowest points of their lives and then we get them through through that and they tell us that we've saved their life.

"Seeing somebody going from suicidal crisis to having hope is everything.

"When I started this project, people told me it was ridiculous and that there was no place for it and that it would never work.

"We're now four years on, 20,000 suicide interventions in, and we've got a staff team of people that are so dedicated and believe in that vision that we can make a suicide safer community.

"We've got clients that believed in that, and now we've got the NHS that believe in this as the way forward. It's just a dream come true for me."

The NHS partnership looks set to be rolled out elsewhere in the north west next year.Until then, there is still help for anyone suffering - even at Christmas.