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Thursday 10 Oct 2024

2470 mental health interventions recorded across West Coast main line in just five years

Region & Route:

North West & Central

This World Mental Health Day (10 October 2024), Network Rail has announced a new milestone with its Rail Suicide Prevention Programme as 2470 interventions have been made across the West Midlands and between London Euston and the North West of England.

Over the last year alone (2023-24), 443 interventions were made across the West Coast main line through the support of the partnership which has been delivered through Network Rail, Samaritans and British Transport Police.

The partnership aims to provide specialist training for rail staff, and partners to raise public awareness about suicide prevention, the signs to look out for to see if someone needs help, and teaches them the best ways to approach vulnerable people and these can range from simply talking to them or calling for further professional assistance.

Louise McNally, Network Rail’s suicide prevention lead, said: “It’s a great achievement to see that over 27,000 potentially life-saving interventions have been made to help support and identify vulnerable people across the rail network who may be at risk of suicide.

“The Rail Suicide Prevention Programme helps us, as an entire industry, respond as effectively as we can to the many people that are presenting on the railway either in distress, in crisis, or struggling to cope. It also provides invaluable support to those members of the workforce who find themselves involved in some difficult incidents.”

Network Rail continues to work closely with the Samaritans to train thousands of frontline railway staff with the skills to identify vulnerable individuals and confidently intervene.

Dave Brown, Samaritans senior programme manager for rail, commented: “Our partnership with Network Rail has been running for over 14 years and the impact it has had on saving lives has been huge. By equipping rail staff with the knowledge and confidence to help vulnerable people in distress, we ensure lives are saved each year.”

To date, more than 30,000 rail employees and British Transport Police officers have been trained in suicide prevention techniques through the Samaritans’ ‘Managing Suicidal Contacts’ course. This training has enabled staff to recognise the signs of someone in distress and offer assistance in critical moments.

Network Rail’s Nicole Elgram, knows the importance of looking out for others after she stepped in to support someone at London Euston who felt like they didn’t want to continue their life.

Nicole said: “I sat and spoke with a vulnerable young woman for 40 minutes. Through taking the Samaritans Managing Suicidal Contacts course, I was able to ask the right questions until the British Transport Police were able to come. I am so thankful for the training as it’s so important we are able to help one another.