MORE than 2000 people across Glasgow are saving lives after being trained to spot the signs that someone is at risk of suicide.

The suicide prevention training, which is led by national strategy to prevent suicide Choose Life, has seen scores of workers from Citizens Advice Bureaux to food bank helpers and charity volunteers, equipped with the skills to intervene to stop people from taking their own lives.

It comes as World Suicide Prevention Day is marked across the globe tomorrow.

In the past 18 months, more than 2000 people have undergone one or both of the specialist Living Works courses.

There were 87 deaths by suicide in Glasgow last year, while 105 were recorded in 2012, and 103 the previous year.

Traditionally Glasgow has had a high rate of deaths by suicide, which is associated with the high population and areas of deprivation.

But researchers are hopeful the tide is turning.

National statistics show the Scottish suicide rate fell by 19% between the periods 2000-2002 and 2011-2013.

Pauline Toner, principal officer in social work adult services at Glasgow City Council, and the city's Choose Life coordinator said she hoped the training was helping to bring the number of suicides down.

She said: "Lots of people have been trained in the past couple of years - more than 2000 people.

"At the same time we are seeing a downward trend in suicide in Glasgow. This year we reached the lowest figure since we started recording the statistics, since 1982.

"It's shown a significant drop despite the context of it being Glasgow, and an economic recession.

"Nobody can say exactly what's going on.

"What we know anecdotally, through our multi-agency groups and networks out there, people are saying to us that in the past period increasing numbers of people have been reporting that they are feeling suicidal yet you are getting a drop in the numbers of deaths by suicide. So you would hope that the training is making a difference."

However, Pauline said there was more to work to be done.

She said: "Eighty-seven people still took their own lives last year in Glasgow and every single one of those is a tragedy for family, friends, their colleagues, so you still strive to reduce those numbers of deaths by suicide."

The training includes Safe Talk, which is "suicide alertness training" and involves identifying who might be at risk and asking the person about it.

The second course is Assist, which involves an in-depth discussion with the person at risk, engaging with them to ask if they have a plan to carry the suicide out and then agreeing a new safe plan.

Pauline said: "It does save lives and the people who have had the training and have used it say they have had conversations with someone where they have then arranged an intervention and they have saved someone's life. It's as simple as that."

As well as sectors such as social work, organisations which have trained staff include Macmillan cancer services, Epilepsy Connec-tions and Glasgow's Help-ing Heroes, which supports former service men and women and their families.

Pauline said: "Quite a lot of organisations have undertaken the training because of the number of people they were dealing with who reported to them in a state of distress or even saying they were suicidal.

"So Citizens Advice Bureau - it's something they come across regularly. Epilepsy Connections - they were saying that they deal with someone who is at risk of suicide on a weekly basis."

rachel.loxton@eveningtimes.co.uk