PM invites bereaved mum to 10 Downing Street
A bereaved Worthing mum has been to Downing Street to discuss her charity's work in suicidepreventionandcallformore training to ensure medical students are better equipped.
Ann Feloy, who won a Points of Light award in October for her work with Olly’s Future, was personally invited to 10 Downing Street by the Prime Minister, Rishisunak.shewasjoinedbyolly’s Future vice-chair Oskar Schortz and UCL Medical School director Professorfayegishenforthevisit onfridaytotalktothepolicyteam about suicide prevention. Ann's son Olly Hare took his own life on February 14, 2017 – two days before his 23rd birthday.
She believes there were failings in his care and says all medicalstudentsshouldhaveuniversal suicide prevention training as part of their core curriculum.
Ann said: "It’s imperative doctorshavethistrainingandyetitis not taught as part of the core curriculum. My charity now works with medical schools across the UK teaching suicide prevention skills so that our future doctors and caregivers can look after their own wellbeing, their peers and their future patients. Too often SSRIS are prescribed in place of a therapeutic conversation. I devised Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness in Medical Students) to fill this gap and want government backing to ensure it is run in all medical schools.”
Staff at 10 Downing Street heardfirst-handabouthowolly’s Future has used personal tragedy to help save vulnerable young lives.almost2,000studentsatsix medical schools in England and Wales have now had its two-part training. Dr SAMS teaches practical skills to talk about and prevent suicide and techniques to increase self-reflection and selfcompassionforpeople'sownwellbeing. Olly went to UCL to study historyanddrsamshasbeenrun at UCL Medical School two years running.
Fayewroteinthebmjthat'we have a duty of care to our future doctors' and that 'as a profession, weneedtodiscusssuicideopenly, and extend these discussions beyond patients to include our colleagues and students'.
Sheadded:"suicideisthemost commonavoidablecauseofdeath inyoungpeople."thereisanallied and growing literature around medical student perfectionism, anxiety,depression,burnoutand suicidalideation,andthedatasuggestthatstigmaandfearoffitness to practise sequelae can inhibit medical students seeking help.”
In 2020, Olly’s Future received funding from the British Medical Association (BMA) for the pilot at Brighton and Sussex Medical School. The programme combined the charity's flagship 90-minutetalkingaboutsuicide:
Ten Tools online suicide prevention training and its 90-minute online Reflective Carespaces.
The programme is now in its fourthyearandhasbeenexpanded to six medical schools, including Canterbury Christ Church, Cardiff,exeter,kentandmedway and UCL, providing training for more than 1,910 medical school students.
Annsaid:"somefundingisstill provided by the BMA, however participating medical schools now fund this themselves, often including it in their core curricula."olly’sfuture’svisionisaworld wherenoyoungpersonlosestheir life to suicide. In 2023, one of its trustees was given a Churchill Fellowshipawardtovisitmedical schools in America, Canada and Indiathisspringtodeveloppotential international collaboration."