Mental health trust develops suicide prevention app

Merseycare NHS Mental Health Trust is working with US researchers to develop an app designed to support people’s mental health and prevent suicide attempts.

The researchers aim to have produced a prototype ready for use by June, with patients expected to trial the technology in January 2017. The app will work by allowing clinicians to provide round-the-clock observations on people they suspect may be vulnerable to suicidal thoughts.

Figures show there were 6,122 suicides in the UK in 2014, a two per cent decrease on the previous year, with three quarters of suicides committed by men.

The app tracks members so that if they are seen to be at a well-known suicide hotspot, or to have missed an appointment or admitted to feeling suicidal, the app alerts clinicians who can contact the person and provide support.

Dr David Fearnley, medical director at Merseycare, said: "The potential is incredible. We think we can anticipate people who may be likely to harm themselves with greater accuracy than we currently do, and therefore be able to do something about it and save their lives."

In 2015, Merseycare committed to achieving zero suicides by 2020, meaning they hope to end all suicides for service users. The initiative involves enforcing a new approach including better staff training and greater patient involvement.

Fearnley added: "This is an opportunity to exploit technology in a way we've never been able to before in health, by providing very powerful, decision-making, statistical support to clinicians in real time for the people who are most at risk.”

The trust is aiming for patients to begin trialling the app in January 2017, with its success monitored and evaluated by outside experts over the following three years.