Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has expressed support for making suicide prevention training mandatory across all local authorities in England, prompted by the case of Matilda Davis, a 36-year-old parent-carer who died by suicide in October the previous year.
Davis, a former art teacher, had been providing full-time care for her seven-year-old disabled son while managing significant personal stress, including an impending divorce. She had communicated to multiple professionals that she was struggling to cope and experiencing anxiety related to her situation. She died minutes after an emotional meeting with social workers who had not received suicide prevention training.
At Davis’s inquest in March, social workers acknowledged they did not ask her about suicidal thoughts despite being aware of her distress, nor did they direct her to crisis support services. The coroner issued a rare prevention of future deaths notice requiring Warwickshire council to implement mandatory suicide prevention training for approximately 600 staff members, primarily social workers. Research from the University of Birmingham cited in parliamentary discussion indicated that 41% of parent-carers have contemplated suicide.
Liberal Democrat MP Manuela Perteghella raised the matter during prime minister’s questions on Wednesday, requesting that Burnham meet with Davis’s family to discuss implementing mandatory training across local authorities. Burnham indicated that a minister would meet with Perteghella to discuss the proposal, stating his agreement with the recommendation.
Davis’s brother, Joel Harley-Davis, expressed that the family was reassured by Burnham’s response and believed suicide prevention training would have saved his sister’s life. He emphasized the importance of making such training mandatory nationwide rather than leaving implementation to individual councils, to prevent inconsistent access to support across different regions.
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