Suicide prevention strategy and action plan: consultation analysis

Delivery and Governance

Scottish Suicide Prevention Delivery Collaborative

To help us deliver the strategy and achieve the actions in our Action Plan we are proposing a new Scottish Suicide Prevention Delivery Collaborative. We proposed the following description for the Collaborative:

A Scotland wide delivery team on suicide prevention. It will bring together local practitioners with the national implementation team and harness insights from the Academic Advisory Group (AAG), Lived Experience Panel (LEP) and Youth Advisory Group (YAG).

We also set out that the Collaborative will use an agile planning approach and constantly develop and evaluate effective strategies to improve our reach and support for people who are at risk of suicide, including using technology. Public Health Scotland will play a key role in supporting the Collaborative to put knowledge into action and building an active learning approach.

We Asked

We asked participants if they agreed with the proposed approach to delivery through the new Scottish Delivery Collaborative.

If participants answered No, we asked them to provide an explanation for their answer, and also to suggest any alternative delivery approach.

You Said

There were 194 responses to this section of the consultation. The table below shows how people responded to the following question:

More than three quarters of respondents agreed with the proposed approach to delivery and were supportive of the creation of a Scottish Delivery Collaborative.

Over 18% did not agree with this delivery approach, and 69 respondents provided further detail as to their reasons why. Some key highlights in the comments made included:

• Many people want to understand how the new approach to delivery will actually work in practice. This quote highlights the point: "We would like to see more detail in the mechanics of this arrangement, for example, to achieve impactful co-ordination will require a robust approach to management including leadership and direction of the overall programme of work and budget, ensuring collaboration with a community of cross-sector delivery partners and line management of a national programme team".
• Some concerns and questions were expressed about the potential for the new approach to be more centralised and add another layer of bureaucracy. Suggestions were made about inclusive approaches, such as community empowerment and citizens panels, rather than a national group.
• There was also calls for more clarity on the enabling and supporting role that the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) would have, as well as the role of the Delivery Collaborative, to understand how they could further support, and not conflate, the role of other partners. This quote highlights the point: "The approach needs to recognise all the existing organisational responsibilities and accountabilities for suicide prevention, as well as the existing infrastructure for integrated working".
• Some questioned, based on the detail set out, whether the new delivery structure might add another layer of bureaucracy.
• In terms of membership, some respondents highlighted the need to consider representation from primary care settings, such as GPs and Community Pharmacists.
• There was also calls to give more recognition to the work being undertaken in workplaces, and the need for even greater involvement of industries and business sectors, especially in areas where evidence suggests that workers are at greater risk of suicide, such as construction.

We Did

To emphsise, the Delivery Collective model is intended to create a collaborative leadership model alongside clearer national and local accountabilities, we will strive to ensure its purpose and accountabilities are always clear, including how it relates to other structures. Further clarification is provided in the next section, on NSPLG.

We listened to the feedback about the Delivery Collaborative and in recognition of the identified need for strong accountability and leadership from Scottish Government and COSLA to deliver the strategy, whilst ensuring collaboration with delivery partners across sectors, we introduced the role of National Delivery Lead. This role will oversee the Delivery Collaborative and ensure all efforts are made to achieve the suicide prevention community that is outlined; a community to further drive national, local and sectoral action, ensuring synergies and learning across our collective work. The recruitment of the National Delivery Lead role will make clear they hold responsibility for delivery of the strategy on behalf of Scottish Government and COSLA, and will lead the Delivery Collective.

We also heard that it was important that there were opportunities for everyone to play their part in the new delivery model, and plans are underway to engage more systematically with the key sectors highlighted in consultation responses, such as, primary care, pharmacy and the business sector.

Finally, we heard through the consultation that the word collaborative didn't seem to fit the aim of the group and therefore, we changed the name to the Delivery Collective, recognising the collective approach needed across sectors to achieve the outcomes.