The role of Ambulance Services in public and population health, plus a focus on prevention of suicide in the ambulance service. This session will introduce resources jointly published by AACE and PHE in May 2021. The first, ‘Developing a Public Health Approach in the Ambulance Sector’ discusses the importance of public health and prevention within the ambulance service, what is meant by a public health approach and how in working together with Integrated Care Systems the ambulance service can strengthen the collective impact on the drivers of health inequalities.

The second set of resources focus on Prevention of Suicide in the Ambulance Service. Staff within the ambulance service experience an increased risk of suicide, due to a complex range of factors which influence mental health and wellbeing. In 2020 the NHS, Public Health England and the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives launched a programme of collaborative work with wider stakeholders, to publish a national consensus statement for the prevention of suicide in the ambulance service, underpinned by evidence and expert opinion. Its delivery is supported by a next steps publication which aims to articulate how a collaborative approach to sustainable progress will be achieved.

This session forms part of the Protecting Health, Improving Health feature zone, which is supported by NHS SCW.