Mum convinced tailored suicide support plans which 'hold hope' could have saved daughter taking life
* Information on where to find help and support if you are struggling with your mental health can be found at the end of this article
A mother, whose daughter took her own life, is backing calls for personalised plans to provide hope and guidance for people at risk of suicide.
Jaymie Mart died in 2012 at the age of 32. Her mother Paula believes that with the right help, Jaymie could still be alive.
Ms Mart's experiences have formed a key part of research carried out across the North East and North Cumbria, looking at how better to support people at times of acute mental crisis and prevent deaths from suicide.
Those behind the study, say that taking a more tailored approach could save lives.
Watch Helen Ford's report, where Jaymie Mart's mother Paula talks about her experiences
The research:
Increasingly across England, people at risk of suicide or who have attempted to take their own life are given a ‘safety plan’ by a health or care worker, to help them if and when a crisis situation arises.
The research team say they found that many patients saw the standard plans as a 'tick box exercise' which have little relevance to them.
Instead, the study calls for personalised advice 'toolkits' - created in conjunction with patients and their loved ones - and taking account of their lives, interests and circumstances.
The aim is to help people at a time of crisis to step back - and see that there is hope for the future.
The plan could include advice on how to make an environment safer and who to call at a time of need.
The research was led by Katherine McGleenan, a mental health nurse from the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
She explained: “Often, feeling suicidal is temporary, even if someone has been struggling to cope for a long period of time. This is why getting the right kind of support at the right time is so important."
Ms McGleenan continued: “Each death by suicide is a preventable death.
"Personalised safety plans are relatively easy and low cost to develop and put in place," adding: "You also don't need to be an expert to support someone to develop one."
What could a personalised safety plan look like?
The plan would be written in conjunction with the patient so it is meaningful to the individual. Family and friends could also be involved in its development.
It could be stored on an app, on paper, or in a more visual form. Examples could include information kept a box, pinned to a favourite jumper or written on a football.
Advice included in a plan would be simple and practical, offering a window of opportunity to enable people to see there is hope for the future.
Advice could involve: talking to people who are helpful and good listeners, going for a run, watching an episode of a favourite programme, or going to a choir group.
Key to the project were the experiences of Paula Mart from Penrith in Cumbria, who believes a personalised support plan would have benefitted her daughter Jaymie, as well as her friends and family.
Jaymie was a sports scientist with a passion for travel and had represented Barbados as a downhill mountain biker.
Ms Mart said: “If my daughter had a personalised safety plan and had known what to do when she was in difficulty, I am convinced she would have been with us today.
"A personalised safety plan goes so much deeper than just a piece of paper. It holds the hope for someone.”
The research was funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Applied Research Collaboration North East and North Cumbria.
It is now moving on to a second phase, backed by the Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust.
It is working to ensure the approach is used across the mental health trust.
Consultant Psychologist Dr Uni Torres explained: "Previously we conducted a safety assessment or a risk assessment but didn't really think about what the person themselves might need or might require."
Dr Torres continued: "This is very much about collaboratively working with them and their families and people who support them to say - what is it that you actually require, what can you do so that you can stay well in the community."
The findings from the initial research are also being taken out to focus groups involving staff from primary and social care as well as ambulance services, to consider how to put them into practice more widely.
Those behind this study say that all deaths from suicide are preventable and hope wide use of personalised plans - for individuals, families and their loved ones - can be a step towards that.
Where to get help:
If you are struggling with your mental health and feel you need help, there are resources available to support you.
Visit: Samaritans | Every life lost to suicide is a tragedy | Here to listen
Or call: 116 123 for free, 24 hours a day
Visit: Urgent help: Zero Suicide Alliance
Visit: Home - Mind
Visit: Every Life Matters - Suicide Safer Cumbria (every-life-matters.org.uk)
You can also find out more about developing your own safety plan on the Every Life Matterswebsite: Safety Planning - Every Life Matters
Further support and advice for those living in the North East can be found here, and for those living in Cumbria and Scotland find contact details here.
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