Mother of Grantham girl Evelyn Gibson visits Houses of Parliament in continued bid to prevent suicide amongst young people
A mother is calling for more expert help and training to be made available to prevent suicide among young people.
Jenni Swift, mother of Grantham girl Evelyn Gibson who died aged 15 in 2022 due to a difficult battle with mental health, visited the Houses of Parliament last week to attend the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Self Harm and Suicide Prevention.
The group - which was attended by Baroness Merron, under-secretary of state for patient safety, women’s health and mental health - allows MPs and invited guests to question and debate on support for action on suicide and self-harm prevention within Parliament.
Jenni and her husband Jack Swift have attended APPGs before, their first being in 2023.
She found her latest visit to be “very mixed” as she praised the number of suicide prevention charities and organisations that attend these groups to seek more help, however she was not able to ask her question to Baroness Merron.
Jenni’s question was ‘are there any plans to make mental health and suicide prevention training a statutory requirement for health and social care, in the same way that Oliver McGowen training on autism was made statutory?’.
Jenni said: “It was great to have lots of suicide prevention charities and organisations in the same room and you can feel the passion and drive for change.
“There are so many charities doing exceptional work in difficult circumstances, offering to help the Government by sharing their experiences.
“It’s encouraging to feel the support in the room with lots of people wanting to make change happen, but sometimes you can come away feeling what will actually be done?”
Although she did not get to ask her question, Jenni intends to follow it up with Baroness Meron.
She added: “Baroness Meron asked for feedback from those parents at the meeting and was keen for us to share our experience, so we will be putting our question to her.
“We would very much welcome further opportunities to discuss our family’s experiences, so that we can influence positive changes for other families.
“In particular, we would like the opportunity to discuss why we feel mandatory mental health and suicide training is so necessary.
“Evelyn saw a range of medical professionals in a variety of settings over several years - GPs, paramedics, A&E, paediatric ward, CAMHS and a psychiatric ward.
“It was sadly very clear to us that many of these professionals had no or little training in mental health and suicide prevention.
“It was clear to Evelyn, and it is still clear to us, that mandatory training is the only way to combat this.
“It is vital that medical professionals in any setting have a basic understanding of mental health issues including eating disorders and suicide prevention.
“Evelyn felt strongly about this.”
At the end of January, Jenni and Jack announced they were working with CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) in its national Missed Birthday campaign, with the aim to prevent suicide amongst young people.
The campaign promotes the ideas of CALM’s C.A.R.E kit, which stands for Check in, Ask how they are, Remain close and Expert help.
Jenni’s visit to Parliament is another step forward in trying to prevent suicide, which is the leading cause of death of people under 35 years old.
Jenni added: “The ‘E’ of the C.A.R.E kit stands for ‘expert help’.
“Parents and carers can only do so much and unfortunately cannot solve everything.
“We are there to care, support and take action to keep our loved ones safe, but we can’t do it alone.
“Therefore, it’s important to reach out when necessary to professionals like GPs or mental health services to share the load and give specialist advice.
“However, if we’re advocating for people to seek expert help, we also need to ensure the expert help is fit for purpose.
“That’s why we continue to work with Lincolnshire Partnership Foundation Trust and the Integrated Care Board for Lincolnshire, and why we will continue to lobby the government for change.”
CALM has a helpline for anyone feeling suicidal, which is open from 5pm until midnight, and can be reached by calling 0800 58 58 58.
Samaritans also offer FREE round the clock, confidential support to anyone that wants to talk through their problems, which could include relationship and family problems, bereavement, financial worries, job-related stress or college and study-related stress. Call 116 123, calls are free from any phone, or visit www.samaritans.org.