Cumbria Chamber of Commerce is urging businesses to consider training one or more staff in suicide awareness.
Today is World Suicide Prevention Day, which has prompted the Chamber to draw businesses’ attention to free online courses offered by Every Life Matters.
Businesses can sign up for the hour-long sessions here.
Chamber Chief Executive Rob Johnston said: “An average of one person a week dies by suicide in Cumbria, which is a shocking statistic, and we know that the coronavirus pandemic has made the problem worse.
“But suicide is preventable. This course enables participants to understand how to spot when someone is at risk, how to talk about suicide and how to offer practical support.
“These are potentially life-savings skills, which is why we’re encouraging business to put forward one or more employees for the training.”
The Chamber has previously urged businesses to tackle mental ill health in the workplace and last year helped to launch ‘This is Me’ in Cumbria, a national campaign to end the stigma around mental health issues.
Anxiety, depression and unmanageable stress affect one-in-four British workers while absence and lost productivity caused by mental ill health are estimated to cost businesses between £33bn and £42bn a year.
Rob added: “Those statistics pre-date COVID-19. My hunch is that the bill for mental ill health is even greater now.
“We’re living through extraordinary times. We owe it to ourselves and our employees to look out for each other.
“If nothing else, the pandemic has highlighted the duty of care businesses have as employers.”
There is a bank of information on the Chamber website at https://www.cumbriachamber.co.uk/news/28974-why-your-business-should-train-staff-in-suicide-awareness
Businesses can find out more about This is Me, listen to a Chamber podcast with the mental health charity Mind, and access Mind’s resources for businesses.
