Concerns about the safety of the public and volunteers have led to a number of local authorities writing a damning letter to Suicide Prevention & Intervention IOW (SPIIOW), effectively telling the charity to stop their interference – which has resulted in a suspension of all public facing and community engagement operations with immediate effect.
Hampshire Constabulary, the Isle of Wight Council, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG have all come together as part of the local Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Partnership to deliver a collective response to SPIIOW’s activities, which at times are said to be ‘misleading, wholly inappropriate and unacceptable’.
The letter, seen by Island Echo, states that in 2021 member organisations had been experiencing ‘challenges’ in working with SPIIOW and therefore developed a mutually-agreed plan to try and constructively address the situation. However, it’s said that the situation has still not improved and therefore a formal letter identifying the continuing concerns and outlining the actions now expected has been sent to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the local population.
In December 2021, during a missing person search in Newport, SPIIOW is said to have misrepresented the organisation’s standing with Island-based elements of Hampshire Constabulary to a mainland Police Officer to secure involvement with the active search and rescue operation. The Partnership says the way in which SPIIOW represented itself caused ‘significant inconvenience’.
Just 3 months earlier, in September of last year, a member of SPIIOW is said to have become argumentative in front of an emotionally dysregulated patient and stated that the organisation would be taking over as ‘Incident Commander’ – a role that the Partnership says the charity has no authority to undertake. The behaviours of some of those acting on behalf of SPIIOW is of particular concern in relation to dealing with live incidents, with a clear reminder now given that the Emergency Workers (Obstruction Act) 2006 should govern how interactions with the emergency services are conducted.
The Partnership’s letter also states that a service user has reported that SPIIOW did not provide a positive input to their support, but in fact exacerbated situations, and risk, many times. It’s said that SPIIOW’s input was conflicting with the approach delivered by clinical professionals, with SPIIOW ignoring the NHS Trust’s approach to the care, treatment and wellbeing of the person.
Concerns have also been raised regarding protecting volunteers and staff from harm, as well as adhering to the Health & Safety at Work Act (1974) – something highlighted by HM Coastguard in particular. The lack of processes and consistency around SPIIOW’s safeguarding procedures is also a concern, something which is highlighted by the ambiguity around SPIIOW having a clear system of referring or reporting to relevant agencies as soon as concerns are suspected or identified.
The letter to the charity and its Trustees makes clear that SPIIOW has no affiliation to any Island-based statutory organisation and will not be invited to support, or be tasked to, any incidents. It also states that SPIIOW members should refrain from all cliff rescue and water rescue activities as the Partnership is not assured that their training and operating procedures are robust.
In a statement issued to Island Echo, the Trustees of the charity have said:
“Trustees of SPIIOW acknowledge receipt of the letter from IW Council and it’s partners and the concerns raised within it. We feel that it is disappointing that it has been put into the public domain before our own full review and formal response.
”The Charity has, for some time, been seeking clear and unambiguous guidance as to how it can contribute to the overall suicide prevention and education strategy on the Isle of Wight and we are grateful that this is outlined – albeit wrapped up in some genuine and serious concerns.
”Everyone involved in SPIIOW be they volunteers, trustees, supporters or donors are firmly committed to the cause when it comes to suicide prevention and for many of those involved, it has come about for very personal reasons. Core training used by SPIIOW (Safe Talk and ASSIST) is recognised by Public Mental Health (England), NHS Health Education (England) and the Workforce Development Framework.
”SPIIOW is an organisation similar to those who operate at Beachy Head, Clifton Bridge Tower Bridge and other known ‘hot spots’ around the country. It is fair to say that they too have experienced frictions when working with some statutory authorities and SPIIOW Trustees recognise the urgent need to address and satisfy the concerns raised, to engender a future of meaningful collaboration.
”In order to review our operations, formulate our future strategy for the charity and to draw back from public debate, the Trustees are suspending all public facing and community engagement operations with immediate effect and until all parties are satisfied that issues have been fully resolved.
“We sincerely hope that our response to the authorities will meet their expectations of SPIIOW and that the charity can continue to offer a meaningful role in the cause of suicide prevention on the Isle of Wight”.
Suicidal Prevention & Intervention Isle of Wight is an independent charity with the primary function of supporting the local community and to save lives from suicide across the Isle of Wight. The charity’s activities are funded entirely by donations and grants, with the support of local business sponsorship.
The letter has been signed by: Sandra O’Hagan (Suicide Prevention Partnership Chair ); Simon Bryant (Director of Public Health for the Isle of Wight Council); Lesley Stevens (Director of Community Services, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust); Alison Smith (Managing Director of Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight Clinical Commission Group); Kerry Daly-Lees (HM Coastguard); Rebecca Ede (Mental Health Coordinator for Hampshire Constabulary); Louise Carrington (Lead for Adult Safeguarding at Isle of Wight NHS Trust) and Laura Gaudion (Interim Director of Adult Social Care for the Isle of Wight Council).
I think what people are missing is the fact that they risked persons and others by their own actions which were not safe and put vulnerable people at more risk! Would you want someone not trained properly to pretend they are? And then cause confusion and further delays including delays of calling emergency services whilst pretending to be one themselves. I think not. So yeah perhaps the volunteers meant good but clearly the management of them was the issue
2 words
Paul Holbrook
The islands con man
He ran this
Took money and pocketed it – he firmly believed he was an emergency service – he told me when out walking the fence line at culver that they were tasked by coastguard and police – which was of course a lie
He owes people so much money and I feel damn sorry for the volunteers he conned
Mental health on the iow is shocking why don’t they all work together instead of arguing over who does what at end of day this island needs a huge shake up before more people commit suicide through lack of help and support.
If John Metcalfe (name at the top of the letter) or for that matter anyone within the Isle of Wight Council could wind their necks down as if there’s one thing certain, whether it’s adult social care, hr, they don’t know the meaning of ‘mental health’, nor do they do anything about bullying despite whistle blowing that can be heard miles away.
Look up the Trustees on the Charity Commissioners site. You might be surprised – or not.
It’s a shame that none of the signed people didn’t prevent my son from driving over Culver Cliff. The services of the Police,the Coroners Office and Statutory Services were appalling and uncaring, the only person who showed any compassion was the Coroner Herself. The CRUSE volunteer tried his best with counselling. My Grandson tried to do the same thing and the car got stuck on the end, the only support we got was a Police Woman trying to prosecute him for driving without a licence, that would stop him trying to take his life again! I think it is a case of all organisations thinking they are the professionals. I cant comment on SPI.
Jon I’m so so deeply sorry to hear what happened to your son, followed by your grandson’s attempt.
There is no help for mental health on the Isle of Wight, I’ve witnessed this and suffered immensely myself from this.
Recommendation is take yourself to A & E for a so called mental health crisis assessment, spend a little time in a side room whilst you get asked a few questions. A form is filled in with a so called action plan for the patient who is at their lowest ebb. This usually comprises of a few very unrealistic options that consist of ” calling the mental health crisis line ” or some other pointless and very unhelpful load of nonsense.
During a home visit which was promised to me everyday for about a week following one of their so called assessments( They only visited me once at my friend’s because I am STILL homeless after 18 months ), I was told to help my friend sort out his papers for recycling and go down the town with him to fetch something nice to cook for dinner. I was so desperately ill with life threatening depression, that I couldn’t even stay upright on a chair or go out, couldn’t eat, couldn’t sleep, I was absolutely CRIPPLED with severe depression. I was left to die as constant thoughts and plans of suicide consumed my mind. To be gone, away from the agonising emotional pain would of been a relief.
I couldn’t even look at a tree without getting an overwhelming urge to go and get some rope. Looking out to sea, same urge.
40mg of good old Prozac no longer works, can only really raise to 60, otherwise your medication needs swapping which carries a deadly risk of rapid decline into the darkest recesses of hell that exist inside the human mind… whilst they experiment with all the other black box antidepressants on you until they finally find one that ‘ might’ work, whilst your existence hangs in the balance of a living netherworld of hell that there is only one immediate escape from.
Now this is happening all of the time because the poor suffering souls are faced with the heartbreaking decision of having no other choice. They become so wretched and desperate they feel that there is no way forward and no way back, seeing only one way out.
Anybody that has never suffered from the grasps of severe life threatening depression should consider themselves VERY lucky because when the mind starts to malfunction and sink it is an extremely terrifying place, frequented by panic attacks, intractable anxiety, the blackest hopelessness and no wish whatsoever to carry on.
For all the keyboard warriors who trolled me on here and on Facebook whilst I was fighting for my life in Salisbury District Hospital’s Odstock Specialist Burns and Trauma Ward, I was the person who was near fatally attacked by my own dog in Sandown a year and a half ago. My beloved Rusty Roo who I truly adored more than anything in this cruel world had to be shot to death on the road near me on that awful night when the Devil came a’Knockin.
All because some ignorant individual let their dog that was off it’s lead approach Rusty and he got spooked in the dark and confused.
So I get hammered in the Crown Court, the case and threat of prison hanging over my head for about a year whilst I suffered from PTSD. Being traumatised by the accident when the whole mid-section of my arm was ripped out and I nearly bled to death by the side of the road, had to undergo THREE major operations in the space of five days to totally rebuild my arm after the specialist plastic surgeons had to cut me from hip to hip to take donor tissue from that area to wrap around my arm and save it from amputation.
On the night of the third operation I was taken up on the ward and I became delirious. I was suffering from a massive allergic reaction caused by all the general anaesthetic that had built up in my body and mega doses of morphine in an attempt to control the AGONISING PAIN. During the morphine induced absolutely terrifying hallucinations that I suffered I saw nurses with two heads coming into my side room, monsters from hell, heard machinery moving and dropping tons of gravel (INSIDE the hospital), a man calling for his dog outside my window for about three nights running that wasn’t even there, heard herds of people with mocking laughter running up and down the corridors and I was completely convinced that one of the nurses was going to kill me in the night.
I had hysterical tears running down my face with terror and I was kneeling up on my hospital bed begging one of the other nurses to not leave me incase the other one returned. The hospital had to get staff to take turns to sit beside my bed day and night because I was so consumed by fear.
The majority of people choose to judge those unfortunate enough to be suffering from mental distress and brush it all under the carpet, but to the person that is experiencing the constant torment of it, it is VERY real and cannot just be switched off.
People being forced to take their own lives because they cannot even bear to face the light of a new day should NOT be judged as taking the easy way out.
If there was ACCESSABLE and APPROPRIATE help out there for the poor souls who did not make it, then they would still be alive today.
The way this country is run is nothing short of an UTTER DISGRACE along with all the uneducated bullies that spend all of their time frequenting sites like this and judging people whom they have never even walked a day in the person that they are criticising’s shoes….and as for me?? I have stared the devil and all of his associates straight in the face as my world shattered into a million pieces, the night I lost my best friend of seven happy years, hearing the five gunshots that killed him over and over in my head. Dreaming that my beloved little boy is still alive and waiting to go walkies with his mummy.
To all the dearest lost souls who lost their lives in such tragic circumstances, if I had been alongside you near the end, I would of taken you in my arms, listened to you and helped you to face the light of another day X
by Charlotte Harriet Louise Mathers
and before all the sad keyboard warriors start tapping away…. Think TWICE before making a stupid comment about my post….
…. It’s NOT Your LOSS.
Keep your head up girl and don’t let the b*****s drag you down.
This island is full of small minded idiots, as you know.
Mental health on the island is a sick joke and there so called Crisis team are a disgrace.
These new people that they are all slagging off can’t do no worse surly.
Take care mate. X
Sadly Paul Holbrook has once again taken money from innocent people put it in his pocket and then pretended he is running an emergency service. Whilst leaving vulnerable people in challenging circumstances. Where is his statement in all this
And what are they going to do with the rescue equipment bought with public donation from people believing that their community engagement was approved and working closely with the emergency service partner agencies?
The concept is great if they are indeed trained to the mental health standards they claim and were working with these agencies and not trying to conduct the rescue themselves.
it brings the whole organisation into question now. Vulnerable people considering suicide is no game and not the place for emergency service wannabes. I am pleased it has come to light as who knows what damage could have been caused.
They told me that they worked on behalf of the ambulance services and were requested to attend and were on 24hour call. I know they also tried to say they trained people in suicide prevention
I warned people about this group months ago. Directing people away from NHS support towards their own set-up. Not a registered mental health professional within the entire organisation. A bunch of cowboys. I wish people were more cautious and did a bit more research about well-meaning “charities” before handing money over.
I think everyone is wondering about all the tens of thousands of pounds donated to this charity and how it’s been used?
Reading the comments I have huge concerns at some named individual/s involved in this organisation. There needs to be an investigation made, if untruths have been told about the service they are providing and working with the emergency services which they clearly are not then this is nothing more than fraudulent.
The volunteers are not to blame but surprised alarm bells didn’t ring with them that something was not right within the management.