Anglia railway employee who prevented a man from taking his life encourages others to do the same with small talk: RUSHES.03 10 21 02.Still038

Wednesday 15 Nov 2017

Anglia railway employee who prevented a man from taking his life encourages others to do the same with small talk

Region & Route:
Eastern: Anglia
| Eastern

The quick actions of a Greater Anglia railway worker prevented a distressed man from taking his life at a level crossing in Hythe in July last year and now he is supporting a new campaign that encourages others to look out for fellow passengers.

Commuters are being asked to take part in a suicide prevention campaign on the railways which could save many lives a year and involves them spotting vulnerable people and talking to them to interrupt their suicidal thoughts.

Samaritans, British Transport Police (BTP) and the rail industry, including Network Rail and Greater Anglia, are launching Small Talk Saves Lives to give travellers the confidence to act if they notice someone who may be at risk of suicide on or around the rail network.

Small Talk Saves Lives is asking the public to trust their instincts and look out for fellow passengers who might need help, as illustrated in a new film that has gone live today. By highlighting that suicidal thoughts can be temporary and interrupted with something as simple as a question, the campaign aims to give the public the tools to spot a potentially vulnerable person, start a conversation with them, and help save a life.

Scott Paton, right time railway manager for Greater Anglia, won the Samaritans Lifesaver Award at the National Rail Staff Awards in October 2016 after being nominated by colleagues for his intervention. Scott said: “Last year, I visited Hythe station with a Network Rail colleague when we saw a man on the tracks. I approached him and talked to him until he agreed to move to a safe place.

“Small talk can save lives and I would encourage anyone using the rail network to help keep their fellow passengers safe. If they do not have the confidence to approach them, they are encouraged to speak to a member of staff. Just stopping to talk to someone for a few minutes can make a huge difference and can help to save a life.”

Meliha Duymaz, Network Rail’s route managing director for Anglia, said: “Nearly five million journeys are made by train every day and we are asking for passengers to work alongside our staff as the eyes and ears of the railway, helping us to keep everybody safe.  If it were your loved one, a daughter or son, husband or wife who was going through an emotional crisis, wouldn’t you hope that somebody took the time to stop and ask if they were ok? Even if in doubt, you can always report concerns to a member of staff or a police officer, but please act if your instinct is telling you that something is wrong.”

Samaritans CEO Ruth Sutherland said: ‘Suicide is everybody’s business and any one of us could have an opportunity to save a life. Research for this campaign showed 73% of the public would expect somebody to approach their loved one if they were upset in a public place.** We have worked carefully with the public, rail travellers and those bereaved by suicide to ensure that this campaign is delivered sensitively but with real impact. The knowledge and skills to save lives in the rail environment can be applied to many other situations. We hope that Small Talk Saves Lives is the start of a much wider conversation about how suicide is preventable.”

Small Talk Saves Lives has been developed after research showed passengers have a key role to play in suicide prevention. * Further research showed the majority are willing to act, but many wanted guidance on how to help, and reassurance they wouldn’t ‘make things worse’. **

The campaign draws on insights from successful interventions made by some of the 16,000 rail staff and BTP officers who’ve been trained by Samaritans in suicide prevention. For each life lost on the railway, six are saved.*** The hope is that by appealing to members of the public, the number of life-saving interventions being made across Britain will increase further.

A survey of people who travel by train, carried out for the campaign, revealed more than 4 out of 5 would approach someone who may be suicidal if they knew the signs to look out for, what to say, and that they wouldn’t make the situation worse. An even higher number, nearly 9 out of 10, thought a person in need of support would find it hard to ask for help.**

Small Talk Saves Lives encourages passengers to notice what may be warning signs e.g. a person standing alone and isolated, looking distant or withdrawn, staying on the platform a long time without boarding a train or displaying something out of the ordinary in their behaviour or appearance. There is no single sign or combination of behaviours that mean a person is suicidal but, if something doesn’t feel right, the message is to act.

The emphasis is on responding in ways people feel comfortable and safe with. Different courses of action are suggested, depending on the situation and the response. They range from approaching the person and asking them a question to distract them from their thoughts, or alerting a member of rail staff or calling the police.

Notes to Editors

A media event is available today between 1:45pm - 2:45pm at Chelmsford railway station in Essex. A Network Rail spokesperson will be available during that time. Please email katie.mack@networkrail.co.uk  or call 07734649281 for more information or to book your place.

 

Find out more about Small Talk Saves Lives at: www.samaritans.org/smalltalksaveslives. You can also support by following the campaign @samaritanscharity on Instagram or sharing the video on Twitter @samaritans or Facebook at www.facebook.com/samaritanscharity, using the hashtag #SmallTalkSavesLives.

A press pack is available at www.samaritans.org/stslpress. For further information and interview requests, please contact:

Due to the proven link between certain types of media reporting of suicide and increases in suicide rates, please be mindful of Samaritans’ Media Guidelines for Reporting Suicide and Rail Suicide factsheet.

*Why do people take their lives on the railways in Great Britain? A research study, final report (August 2016, Middlesex University London & University of Westminster, Marzano, Borrill, Mackenzie, Fields, Kruger) Summary available on request.

** Survey of 5,000 UK adults by 3GEM Research commissioned on behalf of Small Talk Saves Lives, carried out 6-11 October 2017. Summary available on request.

*** In 2016/17, there were 6.7 potentially life-saving interventions made for every suicide or suspected suicide on the railway. Figures calculated using data from the Rail Safety and Standards Board (RSSB) and British Transport Police (BTP).

The role in the video is based on a true story and is played by an actor.

The rail industry and British Transport Police (BTP) work in partnership with Samaritans to reduce suicides on the railway. Our suicide prevention programme includes training railway employees and BTP staff to look out for and offer support to people who may be considering suicide and working within the wider community to de-stigmatise suicide and promote help-seeking behaviour. To date almost 16,000 rail staff and BTP officers have received suicide prevention training.

Anyone can contact Samaritans for free any time from any phone on 116 123, even a mobile without credit, and the number won’t show up on your phone bill. Or email jo@samaritans.org or go to www.samaritans.org to find details of your nearest branch where you can talk to one of our trained volunteers face to face.

Contact information

Passengers / community members
Network Rail national helpline
03457 11 41 41

Latest travel advice
Please visit National Rail Enquiries

Journalists
Network Rail press office - Katie Mack
Media relations manager (Anglia route)
0330 8577 132
Katie.Mack@networkrail.co.uk

About Network Rail

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Usually, there are almost five million journeys made in the UK and over 600 freight trains run on the network. People depend on Britain's railway for their daily commute, to visit friends and loved ones and to get them home safe every day. Our role is to deliver a safe and reliable railway, so we carefully manage and deliver thousands of projects every year that form part of the multi-billion pound Railway Upgrade Plan, to grow and expand the nation's railway network to respond to the tremendous growth and demand the railway has experienced - a doubling of passenger journeys over the past 20 years.

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