Suicide Prevention Scotland Delivery of Creating Hope Together Year 1 - Annual report 2023-2024

Appendix 4 : Delivery Leads Questionnaire

Summary of views from delivery partners of first year (2023-2024) of Creating Hope Together Implementation

An important part of delivering Creating Hope Together has been creating Suicide Prevention Scotland and providing the conditions to support partnership working. This paper provides a summary of the views of the delivery partners and strategic Outcome Leads who have responsibility for delivery of the actions within Creating Hope Together. The views focus on what is working well and what challenges there have been over 2023-2024. The views will help to shape improvements for the coming years.

A total of 15 respondents completed the survey covering people involved in direct delivery of actions and Strategic Outcome Lead roles.

What is working well in Suicide Prevention Scotland?

Respondents were asked what was working well within Suicide Prevention Scotland, the new delivery collective model. The following summarises the main themes:

• The strategy and action plan are opening doors which support engagement with stakeholders
• Open and honest conversations are enabled through the inclusive approach to Suicide Prevention Scotland
• Drive and enthusiasm clear from those involved in delivery
• Improved collaboration and information sharing – effective partnership working
• Building connections between local and national work
• The importance of involvement of people with lived and living experience, academic and practice exerts

Key highlights identified

Respondents were asked to reflect on their areas of work and what they felt had been key highlights over the last year. There were a large number of comments which related to specific areas of delivery and a number of comments about the benefits of the partnership approach.

Direct delivery

• Provided support via helpline to people at risk of suicide
• Support for workplaces and communities affected by suicide bereavement
• Development of videos highlighting the importance of youth participation
• Development of training resource to support peer support
• Creating opportunities to bring together people with lived and living experience of suicide, services and organisations
• Recruiting new Lived and Living Experience Panel
• Ensuring the voice of young people helps shape the work which will impact them through the Youth Advisory Group and Practitioner Network
• Development of further surviving suicidal thoughts videos for NHS inform
• Enhancing work on Time Space Compassion through development of a TSC workshop, publication of new podcasts and practice sharing event
• Review of learning resources
• Building engagement with the suite of learning resources
• Developing outcome pathways to support evaluation and monitoring of Creating Hope Together outcomes
• Provide media training for organisations, spokespeople and comms teams
• Improving understanding of help-seeking in remote areas
• Publishing a range of academic reviews to support delivery of actions across the outcomes

Partnership working

• Collaborating with colleagues on various aspects of suicide prevention work
• Building networks and opportunities for local suicide prevention leads
• Engagement with a range of organisations who have not previously been engaged with suicide prevention work

Main challenges and opportunities for improvement

Although it is clear that much of the work over the last year has been positive, it is also important to consider the challenges of implementing the strategy and action plan and the opportunities these provide for improvement. The following set out the main themes identified:

• Raising awareness of areas of work
• Overcoming stigma particularly in suicide prevention work for young people
• Staying up to date with delivery across the action plan
• Engagement with stakeholders due to other demands on their time and changing personnel
• Capacity to deliver all actions within the available timeframe
• Time to agree funding, governance, project management and ways of working as Suicide Prevention Scotland was being established
• Recruitment and retention of staff
• Agreed process for engagement with lived experience groups
• Wider opportunities for shared learning

These challenges will help to shape improvement work which will be progressed as part of the year 2 and 3 delivery plan.

Embedding the guiding principles

The guiding principles set out our intentions about how we will work to deliver the strategy and action plan. Delivery and outcome leads identified key areas where they have embedded the guiding principles set out in Creating Hope Together. These included:

• Time Space Compassion throughout all the work
• Ensuring engagement with the LLEP and YAG to inform the development and delivery
• Academic Advisory Group undertaking reviews of evidence to support delivery
• Working with key partners on addressing stigma
• Building connections to organisations working with people who face stigma, discrimination and the inequalities which are linked to increased suicide risk
• Delivering a number of opportunities for people to come together to share learning and connect