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Training
Pioneering
partnership
Rail Professional looks at an initiative to support staff involved in railway
suicides, which may even help to save lives
There are on average about 200
suicides a year, impacting on a
wide range of people directly
and indirectly, and on the rail
industry as a whole. A programme led
by Network Rail and the Samaritans
has been working to reduce suicide
on the railways since 2010. Innovative
and award-winning, the partnership is
delivering the first national, co-ordinated
suicide reduction programme on the
railways. Prevention measures include
training frontline rail staff, running
campaigns to encourage people to get
help and working in partnership to offer
support to people who may be at risk
of suicide.
More than 30 interventions have
been reported to the project team at
Samaritans, but it is thought that there
are many more. Sophie Lapham, strategic
programme manager at Samaritans,
says, ‘It is really important that we
get to hear about these interventions.
Firstly, so that the member of staff can
be recognised for his or her courageous
action, secondly to help us to evaluate
the effectiveness of the training, and
thirdly for suicide prevention, so that
the various agencies are aware of the
individual and the location, and can
check if anything further needs to
be done.’
Jill MacKeith, research manager at
RSSB adds, ‘A study showed that over
a 10 year period following a suicide
attempt, only 10 per cent of people went
on to complete suicide. This means that
in breaking someone’s suicidal plan, rail
staff are not just preventing a suicide on
that particular day, but may succeed in
preventing the person from taking their
life at all.’
Supporting rail staff after fatalities
The focus of the programme is on
measures to prevent suicide; however,
it has quickly become apparent that
the partnership needed to do more
to support staff who are affected by
suicides and other fatalities. A one-day
course called Trauma Support Training
was developed with Aslef, East Midlands
Trains, Network Rail and Samaritans
and it aims to equip managers and union
representatives with an understanding
of trauma and how it affects people, and
to give them skills to provide effective
support. With exercises based on the
real-life experiences of a train driver, the
course is also relevant to managers of
other staff who are exposed to traumatic
experiences, such as station staff and
operations staff.
Darren Ward, head of ops strategy
and implementation at East Midlands
Trains, says: ‘Before this programme, the
support and advice provided to drivers
after they were involved in fatalities
could vary massively, even within the
same Toc. Samaritans has worked with
the rail industry to develop an accredited
training course that helps guide those
that manage the welfare of drivers on an
individual level.’
Another way of helping drivers has
been to develop a booklet, Journey to
Recovery which explains what happens
when there is a fatality, what reactions
a driver might experience and why, and
how to get help. The guidance has had
input from train operators and Aslef and
will be distributed to all drivers via their
managers.
Chris Gibb, chief operating officer
at Virgin Trains, says: ‘I support fully
the industry drive with the Samaritans
to focus on prevention of suicides on
the railway, and not to accept them as
inevitable. Nevertheless, when they
do happen our focus turns to looking
after our customers and staff and, in
particular, the driver. Every driver is an
individual with different needs, which
we strive to recognise and respond to,
sometimes long after the event. This
booklet aims to help drivers recover from
traumatic events by making them aware
of the support available to them.’
For information about training courses
or any other aspect of the suicide
reduction programme, please contact
railcompanies@samaritans.org
september 2012 Page 9