Citation

Henderson G. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 127.

Affiliation

National Programme for Improving Mental Health and Well-Being, Scottish Executive, Health Department, 3 ES, St. Andrew's House, Regent Road, Edinburgh EH1 3DG, Scotland. (gregor.henderson@scotland.gsi.gov.uk)

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964096

Abstract

'If we address suicide prevention as a one issue policy then we will fail.' 'The prevention of suicide is a public and community issue and should form part of national and local efforts to improve the health and well-being of people, families and communities.' 'Suicide prevention should not be the sole responsibility of any one sector, agency, discipline or profession.' These are some of the sentiments expressed by Ministers and policy makers in Scotland in 2002 during the launch of a 10 year national strategy for the prevention of suicide in Scotland. This strategy, known as 'Choose Life', has now reached the end of its first three years of implementation. This plenary presentation will describe how suicide prevention became a political imperative in Scotland and outline how the national strategy was developed, funded and initially implemented. The key successes, failures and learning points from the experience of the last three to five years will be shared. This will be an honest and open account of one small country's attempts to prevent suicide and put suicide prevention onto the political and public agenda. Some thoughts about how suicide prevention work more internationally could achieve more political and public support in the future will be offered. This presentation is informed by the results of an independent national evaluation. This is the first time this presentation has been made outside Scotland. The hope is that Scotland's recent experiences can help others in the challenge of suicide prevention as a public and community issue and that Scotland can continue to learn from international experience as it enters the next phase of national suicide prevention work.

Language: en