What does co-production mean in suicide prevention?
Children & Young People Delivery Lead Jenny Ferguson explains what co-production is, and why it is so important to involve young people in our plans.
Today three case study videos will be launched showcasing some of the work that is happening both locally and nationally to bring youth voices into discussions as to how we improve the mental health and wellbeing of our young people in Scotland.
They highlight how ‘co-production’ can be achieved and how young people can be supported to contribute to the development of plans.
There are many different quotes defining coproduction, the one which I found most useful was raised in a blog by the Independent Care Review, defining co-production as ‘Professionals and citizens making better use of each other’s assets, resources and contributions to achieve better outcomes and/or improved efficiency.’
This definition recognises that we need to make use of both professionals’ and citizens’ assets and contributions to create meaningful change.
This needs to be done not just as a one-off engagement but through a culture of meaningful engagement and releasing power over decision-making to enable there to be more room at the table for lived experience.
Whilst co-production as a process is clear, applying it in the context of the work around suicide prevention and children and young people is multifaceted.
As adults, we have a responsibility to safeguard young people and this work can often feel complex in how we ensure this is happening whilst also recognising young people have expertise and need to be part of the discussion.
There is also quite rightly a great deal of fear around this work and concerns over negatively impacting young people by making them part of the decision-making process.
For me, this work is personal, as my mum experienced a period of crisis and required medical intervention. At the time I was in primary school and I remember feeling that things were happening to us as a family, to me, without me having much choice.
Even during discharge and the time period after no one asked me what I needed but instead, I placed pressure on myself to make sure my focus was on keeping my mum well.
As an adult I now reflect back and see that this shouldn’t have been my childhood, I should have received support myself and should have had my voice heard and been part of the decision-making process. Maybe then I would have been able to realise that the work didn’t all rest with me.
In working with the national youth advisory group, I have learned a great deal about what good youth engagement should look like, how we safeguard well, and how we create space, time, and compassion so young people can be part of any action that individually or collectively impacts upon their lives.
The key takeaway for me in their work has been support for adults within a young person’s life.
The group articulated that for young people to talk about mental health more generally, there is less stigma but when they wish to speak to an adult in their life they don’t feel adults are comfortable with the topic and they have concerns about how talking about feeling suicidal will have an impact upon an adults welling.
The case studies shared today aim to start to address this, by providing guidance and hope to those working on suicide prevention as to how coproduction may be taken forward in local and national practice. They sit alongside guidance which supports thinking and planning around this work as well as the collation of useful tools.
Suicide Prevention Scotland’s Youth Advisory Group is hosted by Children in Scotland in partnership with the University of Scotland.
If you or someone you know is struggling with their mental health or feeling suicidal, please don’t hesitate to ask for help by contacting your GP, NHS24 on 111, Samaritans on 116 123 or Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87.
