The suicide audit aims to give a view of deaths by suicide within Hertfordshire compared to the rest of the UK.
In time, it will also enable a year-on-year comparison to identify county-specific trends. This information can be used to inform the suicide prevention strategy and planned actions.
A multi-agency group was formed to decide what data to collect, and to agree a process which would be objective, robust and consistent. The group comprised representatives from the British Transport Police, Network Rail, HPfT, Public Health, the Coroner’s Office, and Hertfordshire Constabulary.
The 2017 audit includes 74 deaths between 1 Jan and 31 Dec 2017. Because of the time delay between a death occurring and the inquest taking place, the majority of deaths occurred in 2016.
You can read the full report here.