Linda Chandler

Said the following about The East Coast Main Line VITAL Patrol Team VITAL ECML Trespass and Vandalism Team:

“The ECML VITAL Patrollers are a team of 28 individuals and their manager, Chris Gostling who cover large sections of the East Coast Mainline. Their official purpose is the prevention of trespass and vandalism on the railway but it is a sad and indisputable fact that a large percentage of trespass incidents are by people in a state of distress.

As a direct result of this the VITAL Patrollers regard suicide prevention as the most important part of their duties and have undertaken the Samaritans “Managing Suicidal Contacts” training in order to be better prepared for this aspect of their work. They have also developed local knowledge of their areas so detailed that they are a valuable asset in finding distressed missing people and they have adapted their shift patterns specifically to cover locations and times when concern for welfare incidents are most likely to occur. They have made themselves familiar with local services and can signpost the people they meet onto other services where they see the opportunity.

The VITAL Teams define a “Life Saving Intervention” as any incident where they have identified and approached someone on or near the tracks, in a state of distress, engaged with that person and that person has explicitly stated that they are there to complete suicide.

The patrollers operate in pairs so one will contact the emergency services whilst the other talks to the distressed person, encourages them to move to a place of safety and ensures that person is supported until the emergency services arrive.

In 2022 VITAL Patrollers performed Life Saving Interventions on 35 occasions. In 2023, between January and the end of September they have undertaken 24. This is an average of almost three per month. Any or all of which could have resulted in a fatality. In one incident the adult male was on the tracks stating he wanted to die. He threw ballast at the patrollers as they continued to encourage him to come with them. In another incident a VITAL Patroller spotted a young female on the platform and talked her out of jumping in front of a train. In another incident, an individual was physically blocked from running off the platform edge after VITAL Patrollers spotted him acting in a distressed manner.

These 59 Life Saving interventions over the last 21 months do not include the numerous times VITAL Patrollers have approached and spoken to someone in distress who did not specifically state their intention to complete suicide. These are classed separately as “concern for welfare incidents” and they number well over 100 over 2023 and 2022 so far.

The VITAL Patrollers demonstrate a serious commitment to suicide prevention and saving lives on the railway. Their valuable work as a team in helping suicidal people deserves recognition. Their manager Chris Gostling is rightly proud of the life saving work his team does and takes every opportunity to support and encourage it.“