Keith Leslie

Said the following about Samaritans Rail Team:

“Suicide and self harm on the railway network is immensely costly - above all, in the distressed individual and the loss of human potential. But also in the impacts on railway staff, in families and friends … the frustrations of passengers and the costs to the railways industry. Samaritans work to reduce deaths by suicide - for 70 years it’s been why we exist.

Samaritans Rail Team provide a multi-faceted approach to preventing suicides on the rail network. In partnership with Network Rail, the British Transport Police and the wider rail sector, the team employ a multi-agency strategy to providing the rail industry and the wider community the support needed following a fatality on the network. This ensures we using local knowledge and rail suicide data to address the risk factors being experienced by individuals and communities. Often resulting in community partnerships being formed between NHS teams, local charities, and the local authority. Our Regional Development Leads (RDLs) also coordinate a range of events that benefit from the presence of Samaritans specially trained Outreach Volunteers. These events, either held within the station environment or in the local community to increase awareness of the support available. This year we will be holding events in areas including Plymouth, Bridgend, Wigan, and Dunbar.

The RDLs actively arrange Post Incident Support (PIS), with support of Samaritans volunteer, for rail staff and passengers who have been involved with a suicide or attempt. So far this year, RDLs have arranged PIS on 47 occasions. This means hundreds of staff and members of the public have received emotional support in the aftermath of a distressing incident on the rail. The team go one step further, working alongside local authorities and other agencies to reduce the risk of a suicide occurring again at the same location. This includes the deployment of crisis signage and caller awareness material to provide supportive messages to vulnerable individuals across who may turn to the rail at a difficult time.

Alongside this, the team also provide its award-winning Managing Suicidal Contacts course to the rail industry, in which staff are taught how to recognise someone who may be suicidal, how to approach them, and how to start a conversation. So far, over 28,000 staff have taken part in this course. Its other training offer, the Trauma Support Training course, is offered to front line staff, managers and train drivers to improve support available to those working in high risk roles. The aim of the course is to highlight the trauma that may be caused including fatalities on the railway and techniques to assist recovery. To date over 5,000 staff have benefited from participating in this course.

The team also monitor the reporting of rail suicides; last year, the Media Advisory Team monitored a total of 5,355 news articles about suicide, 1,047 of which were in the railway setting – overall 96% of the rail articles were considered within Samaritans’ media guidelines, which aims to improve the portrayal of suicide in the press and in other formats.

Lastly, the team’s award-winning Small Talk Saves Lives campaign – which has been running since 2017 – helps bystanders to potential rail suicides be able to identify when someone needs help, feel comfortable and safe approaching someone, and know what to say to start a conversation to help them, which in turn, interrupts their suicidal thoughts and start them on the journey to recovery. This year’s campaign and related film gained national media coverage, and as a result, Network Rail has backed the return of the campaign for February 2024. Our work in supporting rail staff has contributed to over 14,500 life-saving interventions being carried out between 2015 and 2023.“