District plan may help cut suicide deaths

District plan may help cut suicide deaths

WE need a much bolder vision for dealing with suicide prevention and a bigger slice of government money behind it.

That is the view of Pat McGreevy, a mental health nurse who worked for a number of years as a suicide prevention co-ordinator for the South Eastern Trust.

Pat, who now works as a Health Development Officer with County Down Rural Community Network, was prompted to share his views following coverage of the tragic death of Natania Hagen (27) from Killyleagh in last week’s Down Recorder.

Natania’s family felt she took her own life after being let down by long waiting lists for specialist mental health therapy. They also urged the development of night-time -in centres for people having suicidal thoughts.

Pat, who regularly carries out suicide prevention training courses, believes that a locally based service for vulnerable people could be key to bringing down the number of deaths.

“I believe people have the Lifeline number [the Northern Ireland wide helpline number] and do use it,” he said. “I think people also like to know there is somebody local.

“The concept of a ‘safe place’ providing late night 24 hour care is currently being piloted by FASA in Belfast.”

Pat points to recent statistics which show incidents of suicide nearly doubled in Northern Ireland from 158 in 2001 to its peak of 313 in 2010. The latest figures by council area show that in 2012 seven people took their own lives Down District. In Belfast there were 64 deaths, and the least affected areas are Omagh and Ballymoney with one death in each area — largely in line with population trends, and with more urban deaths than rural deaths.

“The figures for Northern Ireland have increased, there is no doubt about it,” said Pat. “It could be worse if the work that has been going on wasn’t happening but I suppose what we would dearly love to see would be these figures coming down — to a point where it was something that didn’t happen.”

According to Pat this is not as unrealistic as it sounds. He points to the Henry Ford health system in Detroit in the US, which did not have any deaths from suicide for 22 months following its ‘Perfect Depression Care Initiative’.

“We need to challenge this perception that suicide is part of the human condition,” he said. “We already know that the majority of suicides can be prevented. We need to be bolder now. It’s not an easy task.”

Pat said the issue of suicide locally had been raised in the public consciousness following a number of deaths in Ballynahinch several years ago and then Newcastle.

“In some situations, a suicide death or suicide deaths can trigger others,” he said. “In the Newcastle area there was no clear evidence that was the case and Ballynahinch before it.

“PIPS Newcastle and District [the suicide prevention charity] are very impressive with their passion and professionalism.”

Pat went on to say that men generally committed suicide on a ratio of four to one and that this trend was experienced locally.

“It is not just something peculiar in young men but we know this goes well into old age,” he said. “You can get help up to a point but men aren’t good at communicating. It is hard to tell someone you are suicidal... It is trying to get in before that stage.”

Pat hosts two-day ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) courses across the district, with venues including Ballykinlar, Killyleagh and the Slieve Donard Hotel in Newcastle. He believes they help people feel more confident in dealing with a person who presents as suicidal.

On Monday an information event will also be held in the Bridge Centre in Killyleagh by County Down Rural Community Network to raise awareness of self harm and suicide.

In Pat’s experience it can take just one major area of a person’s life to break down to aggravate underlying issues.

Describing what leads someone to typically take their own life, he said: “They feel they don’t belong, they feel a burden on others, they have built up an ability to do it. They get to a place in their own heads that all of my family and the whole world will be a better place if I was not here. That becomes a very strong belief.

“Feeling guilt is the big problem of this situation for people left behind, they think why, and what if, and if only.

“We need more government help for suicide prevention. It is not a government priority. The budget for suicide is £7m a year in Northern Ireland.

“We need more money into training, more money towards people bereaved by suicide. We don’t have a dedicated service.”

Pat acknowledges that the suicide problem could be worse here, as up to 2006 there was no dedicated government funding. And should the answer be that there is simply no more money available, he wants a bigger slice of the existing pie.

“In 2004 the Institute of Public Health said the financial cost of somebody dying from suicide was £1.4m — for a 21-year-old whose working life expectancy is 65.

“If we have 300 deaths in Northern Ireland times £1.4m that is absolutely more than £7m.”

While he doesn’t want “crude” financial figures to be at the heart of reform he says it is an interesting point to put before the people with the purse strings.

Anyone interested in getting involved with a local centre for suicide prevention or who would like more information about local suicide prevention services is asked to contact County Down Rural Community Network 4461 2311.

Alternatively contact PIPS Newcastle on 028 4372 7549 or via their Facebook page.