Mental health intervention needed in town

Local County Councillor Ed Fordham, Leader of the Liberal Democrat Group on Derbyshire County Council, will raise the death of Chesterfield character Danny Parkes and also the spate of recent public suicides in the town at the next meeting of the Council.

Ed says “I have consistently raised issues around suicide, attempted suicide, mental health and public risk and sought to get both the Borough Council and the County Council to do more. Prevention is the real game here and I believe that the County Council is often too reactive and fails to intervene early enough in situations that require expert mental health care. Any family or individual who has been touched by a death in their family or friends through failed mental health strain knows that early intervention is crucial.

“Danny Parkes was a difficult but loveable rogue, but in truth he was also a deeply troubled guy who needed and deserved our help. The truth is, we as a society were unable to help him early enough and the collapse of his life become inevitable and visible for many of us. I strongly believe the Councils could and should have done much much more.

“Further, the recent spate of attempted and sadly successful suicides has highlighted that Chesterfield has a problem. I have constantly called for all footbridges to be made suicide proof - and this has been turned down. Indeed, in the proposed multimillion revamp of the Railway Station and Town Centre the footbridge over the A61 will remained unchanged and a constant and ongoing risk for people. 

“My solution to all of this, is that the County Council take the initiative and set up a highly visible mental health support shop in of the empty units in the Town Centre. This should be a partnership with the Borough Council, the Police, but also with the Hospital and staff from the specialist Hartington Unit. This ‘shop’ would enable the intentions to be supportive, much earlier in the life cycle of trouble and also would seek to tackle the problems rather than just arrest or move individuals out of the Town Centre. I strongly believe that we can and should do better to help those who are vulnerable for whom life has become unduly complex and burdensome. 

“I am desperately keen that we do everything possible to end the tragedy of early death through life collapse and attempted suicide from bridges around the town. Danny Parkes and others deserve that at least.”

The questions I have tabled:

1. 27th March 2024.  The issues relating to anti-social behaviour in Chesterfield have yet again bounced up the agenda of the Borough Council and the Police, and the Crime Commissioner - with more exclusion orders and actions underway to move people out of the immediate town centre. The ramifications for nearby residential areas is increasingly acute and negative. Is the County Council assured that the mental health and adult well-being teams are being included early enough in these decisions and actions to enable that meaningful life changing and positive interventions are made, rather than just moving problems out of immediate sight and into residential areas of the town?
2. To ask the Council if it would consider developing a partnership front-line service of DCC staff in adult care and trained with an understanding of mental health to work in Chesterfield in connection with the Hospital, CBC and Police to enable an earlier intervention and a more nuanced constructive engagement with what are often difficult situations in the Market Squares? Can consideration be given to a highly visible 1-stop shop open at the hours needed to secure effective engagement for those people who find themselves in need of help and advice, so we can provide pro-active assistance before someone’s life enters a downward spiral.