More support needed for those bereaved by suicide
Lynne Neagle, AM for Torfaen, on moves to create a comprehensive framework of support in Wales for those bereaved by suicide
TO LOSE someone you love to suicide is a uniquely devastating loss. Anyone who has been bereaved by suicide will tell you it leaves families in a deeply dark place.
They face profound distress, a misplaced sense of guilt, stigma and the need to understand why a loved one has taken their own life.
They may struggle with work or relationships. They may develop their own mental health and emotional problems. They may even feel suicidal themselves.
We know members of families, and particularly children in families, bereaved by suicide are much more likely to take their own lives.
Research shows relatives and friends of people who die by suicide have a one in 10 risk of making a suicide attempt of their own.
The legacy of suicide remains with family, friends and the wider community long after the death of the individual.
Like a rock in a pond, the waves of a suicide ripple outward.
This is supported by new research which shows that for every suicide, some 135 people are affected.
That is why I am really pleased that tomorrow the National Assembly is holding its first debate on the need to ensure that a comprehensive framework of support for those bereaved by suicide – from the immediate family to the wider community – is available across Wales.
The debate is the result of the newly formed cross-party group on suicide prevention I chair and will focus on what we call a “postvention” pathway.
Postvention is really prevention. It means acting after a suicide to prevent any further traumas in the lives of those bereaved.
I want to see a proper postvention pathway set up across Wales, as recommended in the report on suicide prevention, so aptly named Everybody’s Business of the Assembly’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, of which I am a member.
Work done has been done in other nations about these postvention pathways but Wales is behind the curve.
We urgently need a postvention pathway to ensure a consistent and structured approach to support those bereaved by suicide.
We already have Help Is At Hand Cymru, which is an excellent booklet designed to offer advice to people bereaved by suicide.
But too often, I hear bereaved families have not received this information routinely.
During the committee’s inquiry on suicide prevention we heard from families involved with the Jacob Abraham Foundation that works to raises awareness of male suicide in Wales, about the lack of support for family members following a suicide.
Many spoke about how after the initial visit from the police they were left alone to deal with the aftermath and pick up the pieces.
Some said they felt there was more support for people bereaved in others ways, such as road traffic accidents.
Given that we know bereavement by suicide is a major risk factor for dying by suicide and that postvention is really prevention, this is simply not acceptable.
That is why I welcome Welsh Government’s recent review of bereavement services that recommends consideration of the development of a national framework for bereavement care with clear referral pathways.
Even though, I am sorry to say, I do not yet feel much sense of urgency in its development. That needs to change.
If I am honest, though, I didn’t need another review to tell me suicide bereavement support in Wales is woefully inadequate.
That is why I am so glad my crossparty colleagues Dai Lloyd and David Melding, who are both members of the new Assembly Cross Party Group on suicide prevention, have helped me secure this debate.
The debate is the result of the recent meeting of the cross-party group, at which we heard from the brilliant Angela Samata who made the Bafta-nominated BBC One documentary Life After Suicide, which saw her tell of her partner’s suicide and talk to others bereaved by suicide.
She told us about the importance of ensuring lived experience of those bereaved by suicide is fully included in the preparation of any postvention strategy.
And how by working with those bereaved by suicide a range of innovative projects have been developed in England.
It was inspiring to hear that since she has been working with the Westminster All Party Parliamentary Group on Suicide Prevention the voices of those bereaved by suicide have, for the first time, been included in England’s suicide prevention strategy.
I hope our debate, and the continued work of the cross-party group, will add renewed urgency to Welsh Government’s commitment to review the postvention pathway in England to adapt it for Wales and to do that in conjunction with those with lived experience.
We owe it to those bereaved by suicide.
They deserve our support.