FOUR people a day attempt to take their own lives every day in Swindon, according to the NHS trust responsible for treating them.

The shocking statistics came as NHS managers defended the amount of support given to family members with mental health problems.

Councillors quizzed the representative of Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, citing the heartbreaking story of a mother who did not want her son to return from a mental health unit, fearing he would take his own life. 

Claire Ellis, chairman of Swindon Borough Council’s health scrutiny committee, said: “He was sent home, but his family couldn’t cope. What are we doing to help support the family that are in an absolutely horrible situation, where they just think their child is going to come home and try to kill themselves?” 

Celia Moore, service manager at AWP, said that they assessed on average four people a day in Swindon who had tried to take their own lives. 

“The majority of those go home with different levels of support and intervention depending on that assessment,” she told councillors. But she admitted that, while AWP always to tried to work with families it was “maybe not as well as we should or have the time to”. 

She stressed that psychiatric units were not the best place to treat those who were very unwell. “They’re not as settled environments as we might like.” 

However an intensive service managed by AWP was able to treat patients at home. “When we see people at home we don’t see just the person, we see the whole package,” she said. “We’re just as interested to listen to what families and carers are saying.”

She added AWP planned to open an acute community unit this spring. Based on a model piloted by the trust in Bristol, it is a day unit where people with mental health problems are able to spend several hours. 

Ms Moore told the meeting: “That will be a good trial of giving people respite even if it’s for a few hours during the day when people are most unwell.”

Darren Tee, director of the Swindon and District branch of the Samaritans, said of the figures: “It’s very unfortunate. It’s not surprising, but it’s still a high number that should be tackled. We should bring that down and one way of doing that is by just being there for the person.”

He cited the Samaritans’ Small Talk Saves Lives campaign aimed at reducing suicide attempts on the railway. “It’s about having that conversation with somebody,” Mr Tee said. “Just by saying: ‘How are you doing?’ By doing that you get people talking and by getting people talking you can save lives.”

The Samaritans are available to help anybody in distress and can be reached at any time of the day or night free on 116 123 or by email at jo@samaritans.org