Lifeline cut ‘massive blow’
Suicide-prevention programme rated one of the most important strategies worldwide
In March this year, the Ministry of Health axed a decade-long $800,000 contract for Lifeline to provide suicide-prevention training to frontline workers. The funding cut “devastated” Lifeline — an organisation that has worked to prevent suicide in New Zealand for more than 50 years.
The funding was shifted to a “new preferred supplier” after several contractors pitched for the work last November, a ministry official said. The cut was revealed through documents released to Labour under the Official Information Act.
Labour leader Andrew Little said he was surprised Lifeline had lost the contract because the organisation had a “great track record and knows how to do the job.”
News of the terminated Lifeline contract came days after an international expert told an Auckland conference of mental-health workers — and ministry officials — that training, particularly the programme run by Lifeline, was one of the most important suicide-prevention strategies worldwide.
“Suicide-specific training is what saves lives,” said US-based David Covington, president of Rotary International and leader of the international “zero suicide” prevention movement.
“These simple actions are proven to make a difference,” he said.
At a suicide-prevention conference last Thursday, Covington outlined the importance of the Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) programme, a twoday course that trains frontline workers such as counsellors, teachers and nurses on how to identify those at-risk and confidently keep them safe.
For the past 15 years, Lifeline has worked to adapt the international programme specifically for New Zea- land and it has trained more than 8000 frontline staff.
The Australian Government funds the Lifeline Australia branch to run the ASIST programme. And until March 31, the New Zealand Government did too.
The termination of the contract was a “massive loss and a huge blow” to Lifeline, said executive director Glenda Schnell.
“We had a huge amount of training capability and learning that was gathered over that 10-year period that was being put into practice,” Schnell said.
For the past four weeks, the Herald has run a special series called Break the Silence analysing why New Zealand has the highest teen suicide rate in the developed world and why the number of deaths has remained largely unchanged for 20 years.
One of the potential solutions to what some deem to be a “youth suicide crisis” is pouring more funding into suicide-prevention training for those working with the most at-risk young people in the country, experts claim.
Communities were “crying out for support” in this area, Schnell said.
More than 20 organisations have contacted Lifeline seeking the ASIST training since its funding was cut.
The supplier that won the funding contract was Le Va, a national health provider based in Manukau. Chief executive Dr Monique Faleafa said it would roll out the new national suicide-prevention training pro-
We had a huge amount of training capability and learning that was gathered over that 10-year period that was being put into practice. Glenda Schnell, executive director
gramme, called LifeKeepers, in September.
“We love the work of Lifeline and we can’t really comment on what’s gone on before,” Faleafa said. “We need to do better [to cut the suicide rate] and this means doing things differently, ” she said.
LifeKeepers would deliver targeted training programmes to resonate with specific communities.
“I think when it comes to suicide there will be a long time before supply meets demand. There is never going to be enough to go around in terms of preventing suicide.”
Caroline Wilson, managing director of A-OK workshops which run ASIST, said communities had started to rally to support the programme since its funding was terminated. In Greymouth, for example, advocates were washing cars to try to raise funds because “they believe in it so much”, she said.
“I’m not saying we’re the answer to everything, but we’d all like to know why we’ve just been dropped like a hotcake,” Wilson said.
“It’s just devastating because, internationally, these programmes are proven to work. If they [ ministry officials] could just think about the work that has already been done over the past 10 years and please just allow us to build on it rather than cut us out.”
An independent panel evaluated the bids for the national suicideprevention training contract and recommended Le Va as a new provider, a ministry official said.
A ministry spokesperson said it recognised the services Lifeline had provided to people in mental distress.
“A competitive procurement process took place. Lifeline were part of this process, but were unsuccessful.”
The budget for the new programme has increased by $250,000 a year and it will be delivered across the country free, focusing on communities with larger Maori and Pacific populations.