Decision details

To consider the report of the Cabinet Member for Adults and Health seeking approval for the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy.  This is a city-wide strategy for all who live and work in Southampton. While mental health services are crucially important for people with mental illness, this strategy is not directly about these services. It focuses on prevention of mental health problems and promotion of wellbeing, taking a wider determinants approach to supporting people to have better mental health and wellbeing.

(i)  To approve the new Southampton Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and supporting documents.

(ii)  To approve delegation to the Director of Public Health to make minor changes to the strategy during its lifetime.

(iii)  To provide formal approval for the establishment of the Southampton Mental Health and Wellbeing Partnership.

The Southampton Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy has now been finalised, following the completion of the full strategy development cycle including engagement, drafting, public consultation, and refinement from feedback.

1.  Not having a city-wide Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy for the city risks worsening the health of Southampton residents, increasing inequalities, and creating a wider impact on services downstream. There would also be impacts on the existing local suicide prevention work programme as the new strategy aimed to replace the local Suicide Prevention Plan 2020-2023 through inclusion as one of the six priorities. 

2.  Having only a strategy and detailed action plan for suicide prevention in Southampton (i.e. adopting only priority outcome 6: ‘Working together to prevent suicide and self-harm and support those who are impacted’ from the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy). The three-year Southampton Suicide Prevention Plan ended in 2023. To incorporate and refresh this plan, priority 6 of the new strategy is focussed on suicide prevention.