Safety
Following its third consecutive win in the Safety category at the National Rail Awards, East Midlands Trains is leading the way in suicide prevention on our railways
O
ne in four East Midlands Trains drivers is likely to experience a fatality during the life of the short, seven year franchise. For a driver on the London route, the chances are even higher at one in three. That’s a staggering number of drivers whose lives will be so dramatically affected; a statistic the Toc is unwilling to accept.
which is now a living process, bespoke to the East Midlands route. The result was a reduction in the number of suicides during 2012, despite a five per cent increase in rail suicides nationally and an adverse trend in all forms of suicide across the UK. Ultimately, the plan is designed to
save lives. Interventions are hard to track, however there are a growing number of confirmed positive interventions made at stations by personnel who have been trained by the Samaritans. East Midlands Trains is working towards having all station staff trained to recognise people who may be vulnerable, and is confident that further lives will be saved this way.
The Joint Suicide Prevention Plan • analysis and mapping – key ‘priority locations’ have been mapped using historical data and a specially produced risk matrix.
Since the start of the franchise in 2007
there have been 92 fatalities affecting East Midlands Trains services. Needless to say that means 92 grieving families, but looking at it from a different perspective, it’s also 92 drivers who have left for work that day and returned later following a life changing event that will stay with them forever. Each death has a direct impact on the ongoing safety of the wider railway and its users, with the increased risk of having trains stopped for prolonged periods of time and the effect on overcrowding at stations and on other services. Since 2007 there has been an average
of 1.32 fatalities each month. If this trend continues, more than 100 out of the total of 400 drivers will have experienced a fatality by the end of the franchise. If the problem isn’t tackled, drivers are likely to be involved in at least one rail fatality within their railway career - and be subject to the trauma that is inevitably associated with such an event.
East Midlands Trains, in the interests of its staff, recognised a need to tackle the issue by joining forces with partners and groups that also deal with the outcome of these terrible events.
Groundbreaking relationship A groundbreaking relationship between East Midlands Trains, ASLEF, British Transport Police, the Samaritans and Network Rail in 2011, known as the East Midlands route suicide prevention group (EMRSPG), lead to the development of the Joint Suicide Prevention Plan (JSPP)
• training – the Managing Suicidal Contacts course for frontline staff and the Trauma support training for frontline managers highlights East Midlands Trains’ commitment to training
• Samaritans’ campaign material and physical prevention measures – going further than any other Toc, the company made a joint commitment to install at least one poster and one metal sign at stations on the East Midlands route, and to print its own Samaritans’ campaign material for dedicated poster cases. An innovative large scale banner was trialled at Attenborough, and has now been rolled out at three other stations based on its positive impact. Network Rail has also recently funded a project to make all stations between Chesterfield, Nottingham and St Pancras into suicide prevention ‘glass case’ locations. Work such as platform hatching, anti-trespass guards on platform ramps and additional poster cases have been delivered at five trail locations, and are now being rolled out across the route.
Never has so much investment been
placed into rail suicide prevention initiatives. Managing director for East Midlands
Trains, David Horne, is personally engaged with the initiative, having attended both managing suicidal contacts and trauma support training courses. He said, ‘Most people are fortunate to have jobs in which the likelihood of witnessing an incident as
harrowing as a suicide is very low. However, for each of our drivers, the chances of experiencing a fatality are high. And the psychological impact on each driver involved in such an event is significant. We decided that we wanted to do something about that – recognising that if we achieved even a small improvement in the statistics, it would make a big difference for those involved. By seeking to reduce the number of railway suicide events and ensure the best possible support for those drivers who experience such events, East Midlands Trains is seeking to make that difference. Our motivation is simple – to do the right thing for our employees.’ Although the project has been
championed in the boardroom, it is the front line staff who have moved it forward.
Derby driver Paul Trigwell is a passionate advocate for the project. He has become an integral part of the team and is the face behind the national Samaritans’ campaign, speaking regularly at Samaritans’ conferences. Paul received a ‘highly commended’ for outstanding personal contribution at the 2011 National Rail Awards; was winner of the 2011 Railstaff Train driver of the year award, and is the current Stagecoach Safety Champion. Many other drivers have also been directly involved in providing case study data and input into training, publications
November 2013 Page 67
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132 |
Page 133 |
Page 134 |
Page 135 |
Page 136 |
Page 137 |
Page 138 |
Page 139 |
Page 140