New Hampshire § 126-R-4 - Section 126-R:4 Suicide Fatality Review Committee Established.

§ 126-R-4. Section 126-R:4 Suicide Fatality Review Committee Established.

I. There is hereby established the suicide fatality review committee, which shall be a committee of the council on suicide prevention established in RSA 126-R:2. II. The council shall appoint members and alternate members to the suicide facility review committee. The members of the committee shall include the chief medical examiner, or his or her designee, individuals representing the health care field, organizations with expertise in suicide prevention, mental health, and substance abuse treatment and prevention, law enforcement, injury prevention, organizations or individuals who advocate for individuals and families with mental illness, survivors of suicide, and such other members as the council determines will assist the committee in fulfilling its objectives. III. The committee shall adopt a protocol defining which suicide deaths, as determined by the office of the chief medical examiner, shall be reported to the committee and subject to review, and which suicide deaths may be screened out for review. The committee may also review deaths which are ruled as accidental which may inform suicide prevention efforts. The committee shall not review any case where there is pending litigation. The committee may establish different levels of review, such as comprehensive or more limited review, depending on the nature of the incident or the purpose of the review. IV. The committee shall: (a) Review suicide deaths in New Hampshire to determine trends, risk factors, and prevention strategies. (b) Determine and report on trends and patterns of suicide deaths in New Hampshire. (c) Identify and evaluate the prevalence of risk factors for preventable deaths in New Hampshire. (d) Evaluate and report on high risk factors, current practices, gaps in systematic responses, and barriers to safety and well-being for individuals at risk for suicide in New Hampshire. (e) Recommend improvements in the sources of data relative to investigating reported suicide deaths and preventing suicide. V. Records of the committee, including testimony by persons participating in or appearing before the committee and deliberations by committee members relating to the review of any death, shall be confidential and privileged and shall be protected from direct or indirect means of discovery, subpoena, or admission into evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding. However, information, documents, or records otherwise available from original sources shall not be construed as immune from discovery from the original sources or used in any such civil or administrative action merely because they were presented to the committee, and any person who appears before the committee or supplies information as part of a committee review, or who is a member of the committee, may not be prevented from testifying as to matters within his or her knowledge, but such witness may not be asked about his or her statements before the committee, participation as a member of the committee, or opinions formed by him or her or any other member of the committee, as a result of participation in a review conducted by the committee. VI. The suicide fatality review committee shall consult and collaborate with the existing fatality review committees as appropriate. VII. The committee shall report annually to the council, on or before the first day of September, beginning September 1, 2011, describing any trends and patterns of deaths or serious injuries or risk factors together with any recommendations for changes in law, policy, and practice that will prevent suicide deaths and related serious occurrences. The committee may also issue special reports when doing so is necessary to alert authorities or the public to the need for prompt corrective action. VIII. The meetings and records of the committee shall be exempt from the provisions of RSA 91-A. The committee's reports shall not include any private or privileged information. Members of the committee may be required to sign a confidentiality agreement that prohibits any unauthorized dissemination of information disclosed to the committee. IX. Members shall be appointed within 30 days of the effective date of this section, and the first meeting shall be called by the chairperson of the council, or his or her designee, within 45 days of the effective date of this section.