More than 200 students have been given suicide prevention training to help them look out for the warning signs of people who may be struggling with their mental health.
The sessions were run by Olly’s Future, a charity set up by mother Ann Feloy whose son Olly Hare took his life at the age of 22 in 2017.
Ann, from Worthing, and her team have been working with medical professionals, students, social workers and police officers to raise awareness of the danger signs that may be exhibited by a person at risk.
More than 210 students at Brighton and Sussex Medical School were taught suicide prevention skills to help them to come to the aid of friends and future patients who are thinking of suicide.
Ann created the initiative after finding out that suicide prevention skills were not taught as part of the medical degree course.
She said: “Our programme helps medical students look after their own wellbeing while studying, and save lives from suicide when they qualify as doctors. This is the third year we have delivered sessions at the university.
“It’s my aim to see all medical schools provide suicide prevention training as part of the core curriculum. This work is all part of my beloved son’s legacy and, I believe, it will stop other people losing their lives to suicide.”
The sessions are called Dr SAMS (Suicide Awareness to Medical Students).
The charity has provided 1,162 medical students across the UK with sessions.
Dr SAMS includes the opportunity to attend a 90-minute session which provides participants with tools to initiate a conversation around suicide.
It also has guided self-care spaces where people are encouraged to develop self-compassion and self-reflective practices.
There is also open mic mental health nights, often held in pubs or campuses, where students can come together to speak and listen about their mental health.
Ann said this goes down particularly well with men.
Olly, a University College London graduate, came back from teaching English in Shanghai but his family said he seemed to go “suddenly in reverse”.
Olly saw a doctor in early January 2017 and said he was feeling anxious, depressed, lost and unsure about the future. He saw another doctor who prescribed him with an antidepressant over the phone. Four days later on Valentine’s Day, Olly took his own life.
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