Suicide must be de-stigmatised and there should be more awareness if more deaths are to be prevented, an NHS expert told Cheshire East councillors.

Consultant nurse Mike Caulfield, who co-chairs the Cheshire and Wirral Suicide Prevention and Intervention Group, was informing the council's scrutiny committee about the partnership's suicide prevention strategy.

"It's everyone's job and responsibility to try and de-stigmatise it," he told the meeting at Sandbach, adding the stigma associated with suicide is a massive problem and can stop people accessing help.

"The strapline, 'It's ok not to be ok', is a massive thing."

Mr Caulfield told the committee it was important people weren't afraid to ask somebody if they felt suicidal if they had concerns about them.

"What the evidence shows is you're not going to do any more harm by asking," he said.

The committee was told the aspiration is for Cheshire and Merseyside to be a region where all suicides are prevented.

"It's a big task because, sadly, there's still 5,000 people each year who take their own lives, but the aspiration is that they do not consider suicide as a solution to the difficulties they face, and people have hope for the future," he said.

The strategy's mission is around building individual and community resilience, supporting people in time of personal crisis, creating an environment where everyone who needs help knows where to get it and it's accessible.

Mr Caulfield said it was important people who had lost family members and loved ones to suicide were supported 'because it is felt postvention is prevention as well, because the data tells us that if you're bereaved by suicide you're two times more likely to die by suicide'.

Wilmslow councillor Lata Anderson (Ind) asked whether he was working with police to crack down on internet sites which encourage people to take their own lives.

Mr Caulfield said the Online Safety Bill 'that's trying to be passed through at the moment with a number of obstacles' would hopefully go some way to regulating such content.

He added: "There is a responsibility of the platforms I think, as well, to look at their content."

Crewe councillor Joy Bratherton (Lab), who works in bereavement services, expressed concerns that even if someone reached out for help there is a waiting list because of cutbacks.

Cllr Joyce Bratherton (Photo: Cheshire East Council)

"The thing we're not addressing is, if you've got an individual who is considering, or in a mindset to commit suicide or to try and commit suicide, there's no easy answer to this other than 'let's get you some help', but I know personally that that help could be 18 months to two years down the line because the services have been cut to the bone in CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) and similar bodies ," she said.

Mr Caulfield said he didn't disagree but added there were excellent services available like the Hub of Hope, a database where people can put in a postcode and get a link to available local resources.

Anyone in need of support can contact the Samaritans free of charge on 116123, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.