Tees Suicide Prevention Conference 16th November 2023
Delegates gathered on Teesside to share insight, experience, and strategies on how to reduce suicides across the region and beyond.
The Tees Suicide Prevention Awareness Conference took place at Middlesbrough’s Riverside stadium, welcoming around 170 delegates from local commissioned, statutory, and voluntary sector organizations.
Throughout the day, a range of speakers and workshops attendees discussed national priorities, celebrated local projects, and helped to shape the new Tees strategy.
Key speakers included Tees suicide Prevention Taskforce chair Claire Robinson who welcomed delegates with a personal and powerful message about the importance of why we were joined together that day in exploring preventing suicide. Following a comprehensive overview of the new National Strategy by Glyn Smith of OHID, preventing suicide (Tees) Public Health Practitioner Andrea McLoughlin outlined the plans for the new Tees strategy.
Topics covered during a packed day included data collection systems used in local suicide prevention, high-frequency locations and managing online harms from partners from organizations such as Samaritans, North East Commissioning Support, ICB and TEWV.
Cruse Bereavement Support highlighted the importance of support following bereavement by suicide, a point brought to life by lived experience speaker Joe Deveraux who shared his story of loss and support.
Over lunch delegates were able to visit a vibrant market place packed with stands from the many varied partner organizations who we shared the day with. The marketplace provided a valuable opportunity to chat, network and to showcase all the excellent work taking place in Teesside.
The afternoon workshop session featured discussion around elements of the new Tees strategy, with lively discussion and collaboration taking place in all groups.
The conference was hosted by the Tees Suicide Prevention Taskforce on behalf of Hartlepool, Stockton-on-Tees, Middlesbrough, and Redcar & Cleveland Public Health in collaboration with Tees, Esk & Wear Valleys Mental Health Trust, and The South Tees Wellbeing network. Our marketplace collaborators included:
