Joint working on track at Samaritans
Despite an overall reduction of total UK suicide over the years, Samaritans have noted a very gradual increase in suicides on the railways.
This costs approximately £50,000 per incident or an estimated £10m per year, according to Network Rail.
Speaking at CFDG’s annual conference on 12 May, Tony Farnfield, Samaritans’ director of finance and infrastructure explained how this serious issue galvanised the charity into approaching Network Rail in 2009 to “take a national strategic approach but deliver it locally”.
Following a comprehensive proposal, a three-year contract was agreed. This was worth £1m per year to Samaritans and has options to extend to a further four or five years; something Farnfield hopes will take place.
One element of the multi-faceted programme was a campaign displaying posters at high-risk stations. Posters had the slogan: “A Samaritan helped me find my strength.” At the end of the first full year, railway suicides had declined by 13 per cent, equivalent to saving a life a fortnight.
Farnfield told Caritas that the deal worked well because it was done as a contract rather than a grant-funded project. Martin Gallagher, head of community safety for Network Rail works closely with Samaritans and Farnfield clearly enjoys working with him – calling him “a taskmaster who understands us”. Gallagher had confirmed that if Samaritans hadn’t come to Network Rail they would have approached them anyway. “Their expertise and insight will help us together train our people in managing this sensitive and vital issue,” he said.
Author: Clarissa Dann
Clarissa Dann was the editor of Caritas as well as an HR and management online service,he People Bulletin until July 2011.
She is now the editor of the specialist trade finance magazine, Trade and Forfaiting Review which can be viewed at www.tfreview.com but does write on charity finance and investment from time to time.
Clarissa has a background in legal and professional publishing, as well as business journalism and holds an MBA from
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