Highland mental health charities send letter to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon to call for investment into Recovery College project funding following repeated suicide attempts on Kessock Bridge in Inverness
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TWO Highland-based mental health charities have signed a letter to the First Minister calling for "early and meaningful investment" in a major project to offer crucial mental health support in the region.
David Brookfield, chief executive at Centred (Scotland) – formerly known as Birchwood Highland – and Sue Lyons from HUG (Action for Mental Health), wrote an open letter addressed to Nicola Sturgeon in which they share their concerns about the high levels of suicide in Highland and urge for changes in funding and delivery of "traditional" mental health services as well as asking for vital investment towards the development of a Recovery College in the Highlands.
We can’t underestimate here in Highland the impact to overall wellbeing of globalization, climate change, the energy crisis, poverty, and the emerging evidence correlating young people’s use of social media and emerging poor mental health in the younger population.
This comes after several episodes in which police had to close the Kessock Bridge occurred in the past few weeks, leading to a call to kindness from HUG.
Mr Brookfield wrote: "We at Centred (Scotland) the leading mental health organisation in Highland and Spirit Advocacy representing HUG-Action on Mental Health are concerned by the recent events centring on the Kessock Bridge Inverness and wish to provide our views and offer support via the attached open letter to yourself, MSPs, councillors, NHS senior management and the general public."
The call to action comes only a few days before Saturday, September 10, which marks World Suicide Prevention Day.
A recent report by the National Records for Scotland of suicide statistics that identifies Highland as the highest death rate from suicide per 100,000 of the population.
Open letter to the First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon MSP
Repeated Suicide Attempts Kessock Bridge, Inverness
September 7, 2022
We are concerned regarding the recent events at the Kessock Bridge, as well as the overall high levels of suicide in Highland. Undoubtedly and sadly stigma, including internalised stigma still surrounds issues of mental ill-health.
We recognise that the reasons for thoughts of suicide and completing suicide are complex and individual and that not all people who experience thoughts of suicide will have a mental illness or diagnosis.
We recognise the intense emotional experience and distress experienced by people who have thoughts of suicide and we want to offer a message of hope to people in distress. As organisations who work closely with people experiencing mental health issues, including thoughts of suicide and in listening and learning from people with lived experience, we believe that mental health recovery is possible.
We want to offer a message of hope and support, as well as share that there are many intervention initiatives available throughout Highland where people who have thoughts of taking their own lives, or the people that care about them, can get in touch for help and support.
We urge people who have thoughts of suicide to get in touch with health and support services, to ask for early and timely support and interventions such as Decider Skills, WRAP, Distress Brief Interventions, Counselling, Crisis Intervention Plans, Social Prescribing as examples that can help at times of acute and distressing emotional crisis.
We are living in unprecedented times considering the COVID pandemic; and the recognised and well documented negative impacts on emotional, physical and mental health across the generations, including the disruption to young people’s education, both during and as we have been coming out of lockdown.
We can’t underestimate here in Highland the impact to overall wellbeing of globalization, climate change, the energy crisis, poverty, and the emerging evidence correlating young people’s use of social media and emerging poor mental health in the younger population.
Alongside this the significant impact fuel poverty is having for people is real here within the Highland region adding to the very real stress, hopelessness and anxieties felt by many. Rising energy costs on individual level and business levels, up to 400%, are significantly impacting negatively on mental health and well- being for many. From the individual to the corporate and across all generations and age groups people are worrying as to how they will keep going and how they will meet their financial commitments , their homes heated and businesses running.
It is against this backdrop that we desperately need to see a change to traditional mental health services funding and delivery. Services, as well as people with lived experience of mental health issues urgently want to reach out to support people at times of crisis. The frustrations felt by many that this is all in the hands of the NHS and statutory services is immense.
Highland Action on Mental Health research (HUG) indicates that people with lived experience and people close to them are of the overwhelming view that crisis support should be more readily accessible, offer immediate response, close to people’s homes or communities, and should be face-to-face with another human being who could listen, reassure and offer swift, direct, and appropriate help.
It is also against this backdrop that the development of a Recovery College for Highland communities has been initiated and developed. This evidence-based model of support that supports local connections and education has been shown in other parts of Scotland and in many other areas across the world to be an effective support mechanism, building supportive and strong personal connections, as well as supporting community resilience. As well as importantly making a significant and positive difference at the individual level.
The importance of safe and meaningful personal connections can’t be over emphasised in promoting good mental health and emotional wellbeing.
Initial scoping of developing the Recovery College took place with NHS Highland as far back as 2017. An important factor is the need and assurance of long- term funding. Centred and Spirit Advocacy/HUG have ensured that there has been widespread community consultation; Peer Support Workers have been formally trained yet funding and the associated bureaucracy is slowing the process of getting this off the ground despite considerable investment from both our own organisations and high levels of support from others.
NHS and statutory services are vitally important when they are needed, however equally so are grass roots organisations particularly those adopting evidence -based models of care and support shown to work in other areas across the world, in making a positive difference at both the personal and at community level.
We are therefore urging early and meaningful investment from local policy makers, politicians, educators and influencers in the Recovery College to help us all make a real and meaningful difference in reducing the high levels of suicide in Highland.
sincerely
David Brookfield Susan Lyons H.U.G.
Chief Executive
Centred (Scotland)
