Suicide Bereavement UK: emergency services - responding to suicide

One day (9 am till 4.30pm)

From £299+VAT per person. For in-house training contact Suicide Bereavement UK for a quote

Responding to Suicide (RTS) offers training for emergency services personnel to increase their knowledge, confidence and skills responding to those affected by suicide. Emergency services personnel including: ambulance, police, fire, civilian investigators, Air Ambulance, RNLI, Coastguard and MOD Police.

Aims of the training include:

• To offer emergency services personnel an opportunity to build knowledge, confidence and skills in responding to and better supporting those bereaved or affected by suicide;
• To understand and take steps to address the personal impact that traumatic events can have on emergency personnel.

Objectives of the training include:

• To improve staff knowledge and understanding when responding to those bereaved or affected by suicide
• To outline a person-centred practical response to suicide
• To explore the effects of exposure to traumatic events
• To develop a personal plan to reduce the effects of exposure to incidents of suicide
• To analyse current responses to suicide and consider how to improve support to those bereaved or affected.

For more information on the RTS training, visit the Suicide Bereavement UK website.

First responders and investigators are often exposed to suicide as well as bereaved families at the scene during their careers. Many report feeling anxious and uncertain how to respond to those bereaved by suicide, due to lack of training.

Responding to these incidents can have a direct impact on the mental health and well-being of these personnel.

Responding To Suicide (RTS) training is evidence and practice-based, and informed by the lived-experience of both emergency service personnel and those bereaved by suicide. It provides guidance for staff on how to respond to suicide more effectively, which can be applied in a practical sense.

The training has been designed by a team with a wealth of experience in the emergency services, suicide postvention (care of those bereaved by suicide), and prevention. Several authors have received awards for their work in postvention.

• The University of Manchester

• CPD certified

Suicide Bereavement also offer other training courses, such as:

• Postvention Assisting those Bereaved By Suicide
• On the Go

To read more on the RTS training, download the training leaflet.