Staffordshire County Council commissioned STORM® to deliver Skills Training in Suicide Prevention Level 2 to GPs.
Our standard level 2 course was customised to meet the needs of GPs, including covering risk and vulnerability across the lifespan. The training aimed to develop skills in working collaboratively with someone in distress, assessing risk and vulnerability to suicide, and effective safety plan to keep the person safe.
One of the challenges of the project was the idea that GPs would need to spend a full day of training. We explored with project partners the reasons for keeping it as one full day, rather than breaking it down into smaller chunks.
Earlier this year, Gill, Bianca, Keith and Richard delivered 10 sessions of 1-day training to a total of 68 GPs and 7 other practice staff across the region.
The feedback demonstrates that the training has been extremely well received with GPs and other practice staff commenting that they found the training beneficial and applicable to their day-to-day practice.
We also received some fantastic recommendations:
“Excellent training. Detailed and thorough and provided a useful structure for assessment and planning.” GP, England
“A great opportunity to learn skills talking to those with suicidal thoughts and putting safety plans in place to protect these people. I feel more confident in this now and will alter my practice for the better.” – GP, Staffordshire
“The training was thoroughly engaging and practical. My attention was drawn to important aspects of risk assessment and the importance of collaborative effort in suicide prevention. I feel much more confident in seeing patients with mental health symptoms and suicide risk.” GP Trainee, NHS Trust
Staffordshire County Council wanted to ensure that they were doing everything they could to offer support to those who are at risk of suicide and self-harm and we are pleased to hear that participants now feel that they can, and have used, the training in their day-to-day practice.
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To mark WSPD, we are showcasing some of the projects that we have supported in the last year in the September edition of our newsletter. This year’s WSPD theme is Creating Hope Through Action, and we are sure you will agree that these brilliant initiatives are doing exactly that.
We’ve been reading a very useful report about the sensitive topic of asking about suicide and self-harm when a patient is in primary care. You can read the full report from Ford et al here and we have pulled out some of the key points in this article.
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