Manchester’s elected leader Andy Burnham has expressed support for making suicide prevention training mandatory across all local authorities in England, following the death of Matilda Davis, a 36-year-old parent-carer from Stratford-upon-Avon. Davis, a former art teacher, took her own life on 3 October last year, minutes after an emotional meeting with social workers who had not received training in suicide prevention. She had been the primary caregiver for her seven-year-old disabled son and had communicated to multiple professionals that she was struggling with the demands of care and experiencing significant anxiety related to an impending divorce.
The issue was raised at prime minister’s questions on Wednesday by Liberal Democrat MP Manuela Perteghella, who represented Davis’s constituency. Perteghella referenced research from the University of Birmingham indicating that 41% of parent-carers have contemplated suicide. She called for mandatory suicide prevention training for local authorities and other support measures, noting that Davis had died just 15 minutes after social workers left her home. Burnham responded by committing to arrange a ministerial meeting with Perteghella and Davis’s family to discuss the proposal, stating he found himself in agreement with the recommendation.
At Davis’s inquest in March, social workers acknowledged they had not asked her about suicidal thoughts despite being aware of her significant distress, nor had they directed her toward crisis support organizations. The coroner, Deborah Sewell, subsequently issued a prevention of future deaths notice requiring Warwickshire council to implement mandatory suicide prevention training for approximately 600 staff members, primarily social workers.
Davis’s brother, Joel Harley-Davis, indicated the family was reassured by Burnham’s response and believed his sister would have been proud of any resulting positive changes. He emphasized that direct questioning about suicide, consistent with guidance from the mental health charity Mind, could have made a difference, noting his sister’s honesty would likely have led her to disclose her thoughts if asked directly. He stressed the importance of making such training mandatory across all councils rather than allowing individual local authorities to decide, to prevent disparities in provision.
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