The Association of Medical Insurers and Intermediaries (amii) has shown its support for the Baton of Hope tour, which raises awareness around mental health and suicide prevention.
amii Executive Chair David Middleton held the Baton as it passed through London on 6 July shortly before it was delivered to 10 Downing Street.
The Baton of Hope was founded by former journalist Mike McCarthy and is designed to be the biggest suicide awareness and prevention initiative the UK has ever seen. The tour has visited cities across the UK, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Sheffield, Cardiff, Bristol and Birmingham before arriving for the final leg in London.
Mike lost his son Ross to suicide in February 2021, who left a request that his family campaigned for better mental health support. The Baton of Hope was created in his memory to raise awareness of suicide, which is the single biggest killer of males under 35 in the UK and claims the lives of over 6,000 people in Britain each year.
David was inspired to take part in the tour when Mike spoke at the 2022 amii AGM and subsequently was a guest on amii’s Talking Health and Wellbeing podcast earlier this year.
David said: “It was a privilege to take part in the Baton of Hope tour and I’m so grateful to have been given the opportunity to carry the Baton during its passage through London.
“It was an emotional time talking to those who have lost loved ones to suicide and remembering people I knew who didn’t get the help they needed and felt they had no other choice.
“Mike is an inspiration and the campaign work he has done in his son’s memory is incredible. It’s so important that we bring about change in how we approach suicide, how we talk about it and how we support those affected by it.”
For more details about the Baton of Hope campaign, visit batonofhopeuk.org.
