CARING FOR THE SUICIDAL IN CUSTODY - DEVELOPING A MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH

Faced with a sharp increase in the overall number of completed suicide s in the prison population in England and Wales (up to 5 times the ave rage for the rest of the population in 1989/90), HM Prison Service, wi th the support of The Samaritans, has been developing a new strategy t o reduce the level of suicide and self-harm in custody. The strategy f ocuses on replacing the ''medical model'' with a ''community care'' mo del, involving prison staff, prisoners, medical staff and Samaritan vo lunteers as ''helpers'' in the very difficult area of supporting those at risk of suicide while in prison. It places particular emphasis on a better quality of care through supportive relationships at all level s. This article describes the background to the problem and gives a ge neral outline of the new strategy, an example of the strategy in pract ice, the role of training and support, and the steps that have been ta ken to spread good practice.