Charity calls for new approach to suicide deaths

Charity calls for new approach to suicide deaths

1 May 2019

TOMORROW, voters across Newry Mourne and Down will elect a new council for the next four years. 

As the new term begins, one of the first priorities for our new councillors should be to take a leadership role in suicide prevention. 

The Suicide Down to Zero charity is calling for the local authority to adopt a down to zero approach which is 

supported by all political representatives.

Every year across our council area, an average of 25 people die by suicide. In 2017 the actual number of suicide deaths was 28.This means that, on average, every two weeks someone dies by suicide in Newry Mourne and Down.

Imagine if we had a single  incident in which 25 people died. Every agency, including the local council, would join together with others to try and ensure that such an incident could never happen again. 

We must apply the same resolve to suicide prevention.

In the absence of the Executive and Assembly at Stormont, our local district councils are the only tier of government that still functions, so the leadership required on this issue must come from that level.

Newry Mourne and Down Council could take the lead in adopting a suicide down to zero approach and thereby encourage other councils to do the same, leading to a regional approach to the issue.

The belief that zero suicide deaths is possible echoes with our current road safety campaign “share the road to zero” where the zero ambition is considered to be one of the significant factors on reducing the road deaths from 115  in 2009 to 55 in 2018.

In mental health care, our local health trusts have recently adopted a towards zero suicide approach which was inspired by the Merseycare Trust which has seen a 23% reduction in suicides since it adopted a zero approach.

Suicide Down to Zero believes that if the new council elected by voters tomorrow adopts this approach, it will rise to the challenge that the opportunity presents.

Our group has pledged to work with the local authority and all other interested parties to make suicide down to zero a reality.

Some of the things that make a suicide down to zero approach different are the belief that zero is possible and the urgency and active nature of some of the elements. 

A public information campaign that addresses suicide and not just mental ill health is crucial. Our charity has permission from Health Scotland to 

use the campaign it used that contributed to reducing suicide deaths in Scotland.

Training people to ‘find’ and provide immediate help to those in suicidal distress is also key. Suicide Down to Zero advocates an exponential growth in training to identify and intervene with those in suicidal distress.

People who have attempted suicide and those who have lost a loved one to suicide are both readily identifiable and at increased risk of suicide. 

Suicide Down to Zero is ready to work with Newry, Mourne and Council and others to map out the existing services for these people and see what improvements can be made in the services that are provided.

Suicide Down to Zero calls on the newly elected council to table and support a motion for a down to zero approach and stand ready to enable that approach to become a reality.