Involving pharmacies in suicide prevention: Hayley Gorton
Involving pharmacies in suicide prevention: Hayley Gorton
Author
Introduction
Local pharmacies have huge potential as places where people at risk of self-harm and suicide can be recognised and helped. In England, 1.6 million people visit a pharmacy every day, and the UK government has highlighted the role of primary care services, including pharmacies, in improving awareness and intervention. But this potential has not yet been realised.
“My Fellowship has been pivotal in enabling me to research the role of pharmacy teams in suicide prevention." - Hayley Gorton, Fellow
Senior lecturer and pharmacist Hayley Gorton (CF 2018) is working to enhance the role of community pharmacy teams in self-harm and suicide awareness and prevention. Since completing her Fellowship, Hayley has taken on the role of co-chair for the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s Special Interest Group in Suicide Prevention in Primary Care, where she is contributing recommendations from her Fellowship research. In 2020, Hayley was one of five Churchill Fellows who contributed best practice at the Suicide Bereavement UK International Conference. This event brought together people bereaved or affected by suicide, professionals, agencies and academics that deal with suicide bereavement, and policy makers who are instrumental in helping to develop postvention services across the UK.
Hayley has worked to ensure that all pharmacy staff undertake suicide prevention training as part of the community pharmacy contract for England. She is now working with the pharmacy chain Boots to understand what pharmacy teams might think the next steps are, following the roll out of this training. Hayley has also worked with the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) to produce an awareness-raising video of suicide prevention. This was an ‘on-the sofa’ style interview with suicide researchers and people with lived experience.
Hayley was awarded a PhD in Pharmacy in 2017. During her PhD studies, she attended an international conference on suicide, where she noticed that she was the only pharmacist in attendance. This led her to explore the role of community pharmacies in suicide awareness and prevention, which was the subject of her Fellowship to Canada and the USA.
Hayley says, “My Fellowship has been pivotal in enabling me to research the role of pharmacy teams in suicide prevention. It allowed me to meet the very few people in the world who are also researching this issue and has enabled international collaboration.”
“My Fellowship has been pivotal in enabling me to research the role of pharmacy teams in suicide prevention." - Hayley Gorton, Fellow
Senior lecturer and pharmacist Hayley Gorton (CF 2018) is working to enhance the role of community pharmacy teams in self-harm and suicide awareness and prevention. Since completing her Fellowship, Hayley has taken on the role of co-chair for the International Association for Suicide Prevention’s Special Interest Group in Suicide Prevention in Primary Care, where she is contributing recommendations from her Fellowship research. In 2020, Hayley was one of five Churchill Fellows who contributed best practice at the Suicide Bereavement UK International Conference. This event brought together people bereaved or affected by suicide, professionals, agencies and academics that deal with suicide bereavement, and policy makers who are instrumental in helping to develop postvention services across the UK.
Hayley has worked to ensure that all pharmacy staff undertake suicide prevention training as part of the community pharmacy contract for England. She is now working with the pharmacy chain Boots to understand what pharmacy teams might think the next steps are, following the roll out of this training. Hayley has also worked with the Centre for Pharmacy Postgraduate Education (CPPE) to produce an awareness-raising video of suicide prevention. This was an ‘on-the sofa’ style interview with suicide researchers and people with lived experience.
Hayley was awarded a PhD in Pharmacy in 2017. During her PhD studies, she attended an international conference on suicide, where she noticed that she was the only pharmacist in attendance. This led her to explore the role of community pharmacies in suicide awareness and prevention, which was the subject of her Fellowship to Canada and the USA.
Hayley says, “My Fellowship has been pivotal in enabling me to research the role of pharmacy teams in suicide prevention. It allowed me to meet the very few people in the world who are also researching this issue and has enabled international collaboration.”