Reflecting on a year of change

National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group chair Rose Fitzpatrick reflects on a year of change in our latest blog.

I’ve been reflecting on the last few months in my new role as Chair of Scotland’s new National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group (NSPAG),

Personally, for me 2023 has been a year of transition.

The wonderful group of people I had the privilege of chairing for five years — Scotland’s National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group — stood down this year to make way for a new collective of people and organisations — Suicide Prevention Scotland — to deliver the new national suicide prevention strategy, Creating Hope Together.

During my time chairing the Leadership Group I met many many wonderful people working locally and nationally to prevent suicide and I know how passionate they continue to be to go on making a difference.

I can say without hesitation that the suicide prevention skills of the people I’ve met over the last five years are now matched by the expertise the members of our new Advisory Group bring to tackling many of the social determinants which heighten the risk of suicide.

Our Advisory Group members have leadership roles on issues such as poverty, health and social inequalities, care experience and criminal justice, and they connect into critical networks including community development, education and business.

One of the most heartening experiences of this last year for me has been that in addition to offering their professional expertise, everyone approached to consider joining the Advisory Group also said yes without hesitation to bringing their passion as an individual — as a person — to our work. Each knows how important suicide prevention is.

So what is our role, and where does it fit?

We’re here to support the Scottish Government, COSLA, the National Delivery Lead and Suicide Prevention Scotland by providing independent, impartial advice on progress in reducing the number of suicides in Scotland and in tackling the inequalities which contribute to suicide.

We’re also here to open up connections across Scotland’s civic society and create opportunities to bring about changes which will reduce risk and inequalities, so as ultimately to protect people from the tragedy of suicide.

Since first coming together this year we’ve been deepening our understanding of the new strategy’s intended outcomes, the plans to achieve those outcomes and how we can best use our knowledge and skills to help.

What will we be working on in 2024?

At our first meeting in 2024 we’ll meet members of the Suicide Prevention Scotland Youth Advisory Group and Lived and Living Experience Panel. It’s important to us that their experiences continue to be at the heart of and to shape this work.

Later in 2024 we’ll publish our first annual report. As the National Suicide Prevention Advisory Group we will, of course, be offering independent, impartial advice from our many perspectives to all those involved in making Creating Hope Together happen. But I hope we will also be reporting on another — equally important — aspect of our terms of reference.

We have also committed to contributing to the collective leadership on suicide prevention in Scotland. To raising awareness, sharing insights, promoting effective practice and encouraging leadership action in our own areas of policy and influence, and across our own professional networks.

I hope we’ll be reporting on how we — as a group and as individuals — have begun to add our efforts to those of all the remarkable people working to save lives from suicide and to the tragedy it brings.

In reflecting on 2023 and thinking about the year ahead, I am quite certain that for Creating Hope Together to achieve what we all want it to — to reduce the loss of life to suicide in Scotland — it’s going to need all of us.

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.