Commissioners

For the last 3 years in the North East and North Cumbria the Integrated Care Board has prioritised preventing suicide. Skilling up our NHS workforce to be able to respond appropriately and with compassion to our population has been a key objective, this workforce includes those in primary care, acute trusts, VCSE providers and agencies involved as emergency responders.

Suicide Bereavement UK evidence-based training was an obvious choice as a provider and has proved to be a key partner in our suicide prevention programme for several years. Those attending the training have reported improved skills, knowledge and importantly confidence in working with those who are at a time of need. The training allows focussed time for staff to understand how to care for themselves and the people we serve.

In the North East and North Cumbria

• 220 staff have attended PABBS suicide bereavement training
• 480 RTS1 & RTS2 (Responding To Suicide) training for emergency services
• 360 SELECT4 modules (online)

We continue to work together to expand access into other groups including emergency call handlers and Talking Therapies in 26/27.

Angela and Yinka are a real credit to your organisation and the work you all do, thank you so much for one of the best training courses in this field of work.

I just wanted to say what an amazing day Angela and Yinka gave us.  The Major Incident Response Team volunteers provide the county’s primary postvention service and to be able to receive this valuable training really added to building their confidence in being able to sit with, and have compassionate conversations with those bereaved.  The course delivery is very informative and engaging with just the right balance of education and conversation.  Seeing the reality of data really brought the subject home to the volunteers and hopefully if they didn’t already know it they do now, the important role they play in quickly supporting those bereaved.  The volunteers have been emailing me to say how much they loved Angela and Yinka and that whilst they have done lots of training courses, this one will stay will them for many reasons. 

I found the course “Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS) ONE DAY Training” very informative and good. The course was professional, and it was very encouraging to meet others who work to support relatives and can share experiences and views. Teachers’ experience of insight and interest in the subject was one of the biggest advantages of the course.

I’m currently working on commissioning a new suicide bereavement service in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent, and attended the PABBS training in early February 2022.  Initially, my intention was to see for myself how useful this would be for people involved in delivering elements of the service.  Perhaps unsurprisingly, I found it incredibly useful for my own benefit – especially reinforcing my understanding around the evidence of what and who the service needs to support. I’d certainly recommend it for anybody working on developing or delivering a postvention service.

We commissioned the Postvention: Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide (PABBS) course to find out how useful it is in increasing understanding across organisations supporting those who have been bereaved by suicide.  The feedback we’ve received (all of which has been positive) has demonstrated that it is very valuable to those who provide that important support to people who have been bereaved.