148 Goal 5: Integrating the Care - Mental Health
Toward Zero Suicide (TZS)
The five Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland have committed to a Regional Towards
Zero Suicide (TZS) approach focusing on patient safety to reduce suicides within Adult Mental
Health Service. It is both a concept and a practice.
Currently each Trust has a TZS Service Improvement Manager with their role being to lead on the
work within Mental Health. There is also a Regional TZS Collaborative Lead who coordinates the
programme of work across Northern Ireland.
There is a lot of interest in this approach as we are the first community to implement the
programme across a region.
What have we done?
1. Self-assessments/audits have been completed with frontline staff and senior
managers to:
• Identify the position of Mental Health Services in relation to recommendations by
the National Confidential Inquiry into Suicide and Self Harm for suicide safer
services
• Identify the readiness of the organisation to implement a TZS Strategy
• Feedback from Staff and managers has been collected and analysed to inform the
local TZS Implementation Plan and is also being used to share the development of
a regional TZS Action plan and early priorities for activity.
2. Suicide data analysis to inform the development of a Regional Suicide Care Pathway
informed by Quality Improvement Methodology Collaborative Safety Planning
• Safety Planning Tools have been introduced to teams
• Phase one testing completed by 2 teams in our Home Treatment Services with
data gathered according to regionally identified measures. Review of findings
completed and preparations started for Phase 2
• A further Safety Planning Tool is being reviewed for testing within services.
3. Minimising Restrictive Practice Quality Improvement Project
• A learning event has been arranged to review evidence for effective interventions to
minimise the use of restrictive practices in Mental Health Inpatient Services
• Ongoing developmental and support work to agree safe practice
• Actively seeking to recruit people with lived experience of suicide/suicidality onto
working groups at local and regional levels to advocate the Lived Experience
perspective within the project.