6. Member Debate under Standing Order 11.21(iv): Suicide Bereavement Support

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 4:05 pm on 22 January 2020.

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Photo of David Lloyd David Lloyd Plaid Cymru 4:05, 22 January 2020

Diolch, Dirprwy Lywydd. Can I say, first of all, how proud I am to be able to take part in this debate? Because we've had some powerful, emotive expressions of what are true, deep feelings here from everybody who's contributed. It's been a truly spectacular debate, really. I know it won't get hardly any coverage outside, but it has really been a privilege here to witness what everybody has said. Because, as Lynne Neagle in opening said, this is the utter devastation of bereavement by suicide, and she outlined, in some cases, the paucity of the support available to those uniquely bereavement by suicide.

There were 360 deaths by suicide a couple of years ago in Wales; that's one a day. If anything else was causing one death a day in Wales, people would be out there protesting and stuff, we'd have urgent questions here every other week saying, 'What's happening?' I hear the Minister saying there is a lot of stuff happening, and I commend the approach of the Government, but we need so much more, because there is an opportunity.

There are two different preventative aspects. The first is the prevention of suicide in the first place, and that is about how we deal with people who self-harm—not all of whom go on to do anything else, other than a cry for help. But the challenge for us in primary care is to pick up on who is likely to go on to do something far more devastating. And when we decide as GPs that that person needs to be seen there and then, they need to be seen there and then.

We keep talking about how physical health and mental health should have a parity of esteem, but if somebody's acutely mentally ill, that parity is not obvious to me as a GP. It was 20 years ago when, if somebody said they were suicidal, I would ring up the nearest psychiatric hospital and a doctor would see them there and then; as would happen if you came to see me if you had chest pain, and I would refer you to the nearest physical health department there and then. That no longer happens with acute mental illness. We need to look at how acute mental health emergencies are dealt with.

The current situation is that crisis teams will ring the GP back later that day, the following day, or offer an appointment for the following week. It just does not do it. Because GPs do know a fair amount about psychiatric illness and suicide, which is not always recognised in the secondary care sector. Otherwise, people are left bereft and we are left in these devastating situations so eloquently outlined by Lynne, David, Jack Sargeant—I pay tribute again, Jack, to your unique insight into this—and Mark Isherwood, as well as Jenny.

Yes, there's a primary prevention of suicide in the first place, but important in the context that we're talking about today is the prevention of suicide in those already bereaved by suicide. We always say, and it was obvious in the health committee's report, 'Everybody's Business', that suicide is everybody's business. Can I just say, be kinder to one another, people, all right? As Jack is always saying, 'Be kind to one another.' If somebody looks distressed, ask them how they are. There's a good piece of suicide prevention. You may be the only person that's spoken to them that day.

Talking about suicide, in the first place, does not make it more likely that suicide will happen—that's important to remember. But once suicide has happened in a family, a family member is more likely to have a death by suicide as a result of the devastation of the suicide in that family. And that's where we can have a unique opportunity, through the suicide bereavement support services coming in at that point, to prevent a further suicide in that family. So, that's what's before us.

There needs to be a step change in performance. I welcome all the hard work that's going on, and we've heard about the excellent work in the third sector: Papyrus, 2 Wish Upon A Star, Cruse, Samaritans and, yes, Survivors of Bereavement by Suicide—what a tremendous organisation—and that is people with the lived experience. We need to tap into that. The step change in behaviour needs to keep on stepping and changing. 

To finish, Lynne mentioned there's a load of warrior mums and warrior dads out there in these difficult family situations. I'm looking at a couple of warrior AMs, I have to say, in Lynne, Jack and others. We need in this situation to all be warrior AMs with a warrior Government. Diolch yn fawr.