Reason for Wigan’s high suicide rate ‘not clear’ for prevention team

With a rate of 12 deaths by suicide per 100,000 people in the past three years, the borough’s suicide rate is two deaths per 100,000 higher than the national average for England and Wales.

The actual number between 2019 and the end of 2021 was 106, with 16,498 deaths in the UK coming by way of suicide in the same time period. This means there is ‘still much work to be done’ the Suicide Prevention Team told the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee.

A total of 75 per cent of these deaths were men, public health director Rachael Musgrave told the committee at Wigan Town Hall.

Concerns over finances, job security, drug and alcohol misuse were all cited as common causes for this in Wigan. “It is not just a mental health issue,” Ms Musgrave explained.

When asked directly by Coun Danny Fletcher why Wigan’s number suicide rates were higher than the national average, the officer said ‘it was not clear’. However, he went on to say this could be due to a number of reasons, but that the borough was only in the 64th quartile – so not one of the highest in the country.

Coun Paul Collins addressed the health team, stating that “most people know or know of someone who has died from suicide”.

He went on to say how this issue impacts not just the victim, but their family and friends as well and how there needs to be ‘early warning signs’ training in every single part of the health service.

This was particularly the case for men, Coun Collins stated, who were highlighted by the SPT (Suicide Prevention Team) as less likely to talk about their problems and keep them "bottled up”.

More committee members questioned what preventative work was being done on this matter, to which they were told that the SPT works with multiple agencies to cover a broad range of best practices and scenarios.

The SPT consists of representatives from the NHS, Greater Manchester Police, Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, Northwest Ambulance Service, Network Rail, Support for those Bereaved by Suicide (SOBs), Samaritans and wider partners.

They all contribute regularly to highlight issues in their services have had in relation to suicide to Wigan Council’s team.

The Suicide Prevention Strategy going forward will look to "shine a light” on suicide by spreading the message of support services, targeted activity in local communities more at risk, improving surveillance systems in Wigan and Greater Manchester and improving knowledge in the general workforce, the committee was told.

Resulting from this, they hope this will reduce the number of suicides, self-harm in young people, better information for those bereaved and better knowledge on the subject generally in the public.

Ms Musgrave stated that even one death by suicide was "too many”.