Episode five – ‘Recommendations for change and our visions for the future’
Host – Arlie (Suicide Prevention Coproduction Project co-ordinator)
Volunteers – Debbie, Abi Hart, Kirstie
Quotes:
Kirstie – ‘A really simple guiding principle would be; what would you expect in terms of treatment if you or a family member were in this position’.
Kirstie – ‘I would like to see a holistic, person-centred practice that’s open, that’s transparent… where shared decision making is the norm. and to staff – hang on in there! The work that they do must be really hard. And at the end of it, we are all human’.
Debbie – ‘Not everybody has previously had positive experiences with accessing services. Wherever possible it would be so appreciated if every person was met with a fresh set of eyes and fresh perspective where there are no assumptions made’.
Debbie – ‘Suicide is preventable’
General
This final episode gives staff insight into people’s genuine experiences of accessing services. The volunteers discuss some of the positives, but also the disparity in what services say they will do, versus how that actually feels for real people. Volunteers offer practical advice and solutions to staff around individual practice, but also thinking about the system and its structure more widely.
Main takeaways from the volunteers' discussions:
- The volunteers feel more support and training should be available to staff, so they have the emotional capacity to support people in crisis. Community members can sense when someone is ‘fed up’, and this can make people feel like a burden.
- People are complex – a crisis service alone won’t make someone well. People need wrap around, holistic, person-centred report. A better joined up approach of services within West Yorkshire could be lifesaving.
- Methods of communication and contact should be flexible. For example, not everyone feels comfortable with phone calls. Text based support should be made available, and we have positive examples of this working successfully in the voluntary sector.