Dr Neil Hudson, MP for Epping Forest and passionate advocate for better mental health and suicide prevention, lauded new workplace standards for employers to handle mental health and suicide prevention, as a guest speaker at the recent launch event for the new standards, in Speaker’s House in Parliament.
The guide, entitled Suicide and the workplace, is the first standard dedicated to providing guidance for interventions in the workplace surrounding suicide and supporting those affected by suicide. Specifically, the guidance sets out how to identify and manage the risk of suicide in the workplace, strengthen the culture of workplaces and policies around suicide awareness, and how to provide support provided for employees affected by workplace suicides. The standards are available to download at the following link: https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/insights-and-media/insights/brochures/bs-30480-suicide-and-the-workplace/.
Dr Hudson hailed the guidance for its ability to “change workplace culture to one that actively promotes intervention” and to “promote the confidence to ensure discussions take place sensitively and supportive of everyone’s needs”.
In the speech, Dr Hudson likewise paid tribute to the 3 Dads Walking, and their hugely influential impact on his Parliamentary work on mental health and suicide prevention. Andy Airey, Tim Owen and Mike Palmer began a campaign to see suicide prevention lessons be required in the Relationships, Sex and Health Education curriculum in an age-appropriate way, following the tragic loss of their three daughters, Sophie, Emily, and Beth to suicide.
His support for their campaign saw Dr Hudson join them on one of their walks, and secure meetings between the 3 Dads Walking and two Prime Ministers, Rishi Sunak in 2023, and the current Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, which took place earlier this year. Following consistent action from Dr Hudson, the campaign was successful, and the Department for Education confirmed that changes to the curriculum would be made to make suicide prevention mandatory earlier this year.
He also spoke in detail about his own professional experience, both as a veterinary surgeon and a Member of Parliament, and the crucial difference that active intervention can make, such as the Mental Health First Aid Training and ASIST, Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training he and many other veterinary surgeons have received.
As an MP, Dr Hudson instigated a Rural Mental Health Inquiry as part of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Select Committee in the previous Parliament, which made recommendations about how factors affecting rural mental health like isolation and shock events like flooding and animal disease outbreaks can be tackled.
He continues to champion this vital issue as an MP and Shadow DEFRA Minister, championing the need for continued improvements for mental health and suicide prevention.
Following the launch event, Dr Hudson commented:
“I am extremely grateful to the British Standards Institute for delivering new guidance that will help how we talk about suicide in the workplace, and how we support people affected by it.
I was honoured to speak at the recent launch in Speaker’s House in Parliament of the BSI mental health workplace standards.
I will never stop doing all I can to drive the vital changes we need to address mental health and suicide prevention in all settings including the work place."
