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| Wales unveils strategy on suicide | Wales unveils strategy on suicide |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| Teachers, employment advisers and police will be trained to spot signs of mental health problems as part of a plan to reduce Wales' suicide rate. | Teachers, employment advisers and police will be trained to spot signs of mental health problems as part of a plan to reduce Wales' suicide rate. |
| The new £10m national strategy is unconnected to the recent spate of apparent suicides in the Bridgend area. | |
| Relatives of some of the victims have complained it has taken too long for Wales to produce such a scheme. | Relatives of some of the victims have complained it has taken too long for Wales to produce such a scheme. |
| The Welsh Assembly Government plan is based on an Australian strategy, which has also been introduced in Scotland. | The Welsh Assembly Government plan is based on an Australian strategy, which has also been introduced in Scotland. |
| Early help | Early help |
| Staff working in schools, job centres, GP surgeries and police stations will be trained on how to recognise early signs of mental health problems. | Staff working in schools, job centres, GP surgeries and police stations will be trained on how to recognise early signs of mental health problems. |
| The Mental Health First Aid training programme has been running in some parts of Wales but will now be rolled out across the country. By next March, 75 instructors are expected to be running courses around Wales. | The Mental Health First Aid training programme has been running in some parts of Wales but will now be rolled out across the country. By next March, 75 instructors are expected to be running courses around Wales. |
| A 24-hour mental health helpline will also be launched. | |
| It's just help, as you would with first aid Gareth Jones, Mind Cymru | It's just help, as you would with first aid Gareth Jones, Mind Cymru |
| The assembly government said almost three-quarters of those who commit suicide in Wales are unknown to mental health services in the year before they die. | The assembly government said almost three-quarters of those who commit suicide in Wales are unknown to mental health services in the year before they die. |
| A spokesman for the assembly government said the plan aimed to raise awareness and understanding of mental health issues so those at risk can be identified at an early stage and help can be provided sooner. | A spokesman for the assembly government said the plan aimed to raise awareness and understanding of mental health issues so those at risk can be identified at an early stage and help can be provided sooner. |
| "Frontline staff in a wide range of workplaces working outside the mental health environment will frequently encounter people suffering from mental distress," he said. | "Frontline staff in a wide range of workplaces working outside the mental health environment will frequently encounter people suffering from mental distress," he said. |
| Phill Chick, head of mental health development at the Welsh assembly government said lessons had been learned from the Bridgend experience but he stressed that the strategy was aimed at all of Wales. | Phill Chick, head of mental health development at the Welsh assembly government said lessons had been learned from the Bridgend experience but he stressed that the strategy was aimed at all of Wales. |
| "This is not a Bridgend specific issue," he said. | "This is not a Bridgend specific issue," he said. |
| "This is something which affects communities across Wales and I think we need to be clear about that when launch our national plan. | "This is something which affects communities across Wales and I think we need to be clear about that when launch our national plan. |
| "Certainly it's something which accelerated the work and the minister was clear she wanted this work brought forward rapidly as an action plan -- and that's what we have done. | "Certainly it's something which accelerated the work and the minister was clear she wanted this work brought forward rapidly as an action plan -- and that's what we have done. |
| "So it has been something we have taken into consideration and we've certainly worked very closely with the people in Bridgend." | "So it has been something we have taken into consideration and we've certainly worked very closely with the people in Bridgend." |
| Mental health charity Mind Cymru said the project was not about turning people into "experts in mental health". | Mental health charity Mind Cymru said the project was not about turning people into "experts in mental health". |
| Policy officer Gareth Jones said: "It's just help, as you would with first aid." | Policy officer Gareth Jones said: "It's just help, as you would with first aid." |
| Personal difficulties | Personal difficulties |
| He said people often found it difficult to ask someone in distress whether they had suicidal thoughts. | He said people often found it difficult to ask someone in distress whether they had suicidal thoughts. |
| "By asking that question you give people permission to talk about it. In the same way that we don't like to ask it, people don't like to talk about it," he added. | "By asking that question you give people permission to talk about it. In the same way that we don't like to ask it, people don't like to talk about it," he added. |
| The Samaritans welcomed the training, saying encouraging people to talk more about personal difficulties and get help quickly was something the Samaritans had been doing for years. | The Samaritans welcomed the training, saying encouraging people to talk more about personal difficulties and get help quickly was something the Samaritans had been doing for years. |
| On average, about 300 people die by suicide each year in Wales, a lower rate than in Scotland, but higher than England. | On average, about 300 people die by suicide each year in Wales, a lower rate than in Scotland, but higher than England. |
| However, while suicide rates in Scotland have fallen, they remain roughly the same in Wales. | However, while suicide rates in Scotland have fallen, they remain roughly the same in Wales. |
| In February, Health Minister Edwina Hart wrote to assembly members announcing she was accelerating work already underway for a suicide prevention action plan for Wales. | In February, Health Minister Edwina Hart wrote to assembly members announcing she was accelerating work already underway for a suicide prevention action plan for Wales. |
| She said suicides among young people in south Wales had highlighted the need to pull together suicide prevention policy and initiatives already in place into a single scheme. | She said suicides among young people in south Wales had highlighted the need to pull together suicide prevention policy and initiatives already in place into a single scheme. |
| Some 23 young people from the Bridgend area have apparently taken their own lives since the beginning of 2007. | Some 23 young people from the Bridgend area have apparently taken their own lives since the beginning of 2007. |