What needs to be done and why?
Strategic Issue 1
What needs to be done
Prevention strategies, crisis support and specialised services for suicide and self-harm prevention.
Develop and maintain the local suicide prevention action plan, informed by local data including service usage and hot spot data from coroners and police.
Cross-sector collaboration with NHS, police, schools and voluntary organisations & community groups. Include those with lived experience in planning and decision-making.
Ensure timely access to crisis support, talking therapies and community mental health teams. Promote awareness of services such as Samaritans, 24/7 crisis lines and local support groups. Increase funding for crisis support and urgent care centres to ensure demand is met and wait times reduced.
Understanding the high burden among young people and the gender differences (higher suicide among males and higher self-harm admissions among females).
Targeted young adult’s services for early intervention with digital wellbeing initiatives.
Inclusive service design within young adult and adults’ services to ensure individual need is met.
Why
Suicide and self-harm admissions rates are significantly worse than the national average.
There is a predicted rise in depression among older adults and high suicide risk in middle aged males.
The suicide rate in Hartlepool was 17.6 per 100,000 for 2022-2024, 28.4 per 100,000 for males. This is increasing, higher than the regional average and significantly worse than the national average. The rate of emergency hospital admissions for intentional self-harm is significantly worse than the national average and higher than the region (233.9 per 100,000 2023/24).
For young adults (10 to 24 years) the rate of hospital admissions for self-harm is higher than the region and significantly worse than the national average (415.6 per 100,000).
Strategic Issue 2
What needs to be done
Cross-sectional consideration of mental health in all policies, including staff training in areas including housing, employment, education, poverty action group and substance misuse services.
A mental health impact assessment should be undertaken in all policy areas.
Support debt advice services, food banks and community hubs as protective factors through training opportunities.
Within the workplace, appoint mental health champions among elected members and senior officers, provide training for all staff on mental health awareness particularly for front-line staff.
Why
There are many contributing factors to mental ill-health including poverty, unemployment, low education and housing insecurity which are cross-sectoral. Therefore, consideration of mental health within all policies is necessary.
Socioeconomic disadvantage is a major risk factor; there are high rates of mental health issues in deprived areas. 26.2% of children in Hartlepool are in absolute low-income families, 4.8% are unemployed and homelessness is 17.9 per 1,000.
Strategic Issue 3
What needs to be done
Improve access to services and prepare for future demand.
Train frontline staff such as GPs, teachers, housing officers, and those within the community who volunteer. Successful campaigns include training for barbers in Torbay to look out for their clients37.
Advertise services through a promotional communications campaign, encourage residents to check in with people in the Borough.
Introduce mental health navigators to community hubs to guide individuals through services, creating a “front door” to support.
Improve access to social prescribing, community engagement and intergenerational initiatives to expand early intervention and low-intensity support opportunities. Community based services that do not require clinical referral to provide easy access.
Ensure timely access to crisis support, talking therapies and community mental health teams. Promote awareness of services such as Samaritans, 24/7 crisis lines and local support groups.
Why
Hartlepool has the highest reports of loneliness in the North East and has high rates of behaviours that may contribute to poor mental health (high obesity, physical inactivity and smoking).
It is predicted that there will be a rise in depression among older adults and there is a high suicide risk in middle-aged men.
The total population aged 65 and over predicted to have depression is predicted to increase by 15.56% from 2023 to 2030 and by 26.79% by 2040. For severe depression this is predicted to increase by 14.56% from 2023 to 2030 and by 28.36% by 2040 (from 2023).
Strategic Issue 4
What needs to be done
Provide mental health support to those who are unemployed to support individuals in both aspects.
Integrate mental health into employment support by offering tailored, individual support. Within mental health services use employment advisors to determine job readiness with mental health need.
Create peer-to-peer support groups to reduce isolation, encourage volunteering and group activities to kick-start. Involve unemployed individuals in support program design and train and employ peer mentors and mental health champions to create feedback loops that adapt services based on real need.
Promote mental health literacy by provide accessible resources that encourage wellbeing both digital and face-to-face workshop.
Embed mental health within the local employment growth plan in partnership with NHS and voluntary organisations.
Support should be inclusive and gender sensitive.
Why
Adults living in poverty or low-income households are at the greatest risk of developing mental health problems, particularly common mental health disorders6.
A UK Household Longitudinal Survey found the impact was greater for women than men7.
Poverty, debt, unemployment and low education are key drivers of poor mental health that interact with discrimination, housing insecurity and social exclusion8.
Adults in the most deprived areas of England have a common mental health conditions prevalence of 262% compared to 16.0% in the least deprived areas. Problem debt doubles the risk of mental health problems (39% vs 18.4%)1.
In Hartlepool: 4.8% of the working age population are unemployed (2024/25) which is higher than the regional and national average (3rd highest in region). The rate of long-term claimants of jobseeker’s allowance is higher than the national average and in the highest 25% of local authorities in England.