Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the adequacy of the (a) support available to ambulance staff who attend traumatic callouts and (b) suicide prevention training requirements for ambulance service managers in North East Hampshire constituency.

The mental health of all National Health Service staff is a high priority, including ambulance staff as responders to emergency incidents. Ambulance trusts and the Association of Ambulance Trust Chief Executives have worked closely with NHS England to ensure there is a good range of health and wellbeing support for staff. This includes an ambulance sector specific suicide prevention pathway to provide immediate support 24/7 for staff experiencing suicidal ideation.

Significant work is also underway to strengthen the quality and consistency of suicide training across the health system. NHS England published Staying Safe from Suicide: Best Practice Guidance for Safety Assessment, Formulation and Management to support the Government’s work to reduce suicide and improve mental health services. This is available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/staying-safe-from-suicide/