Sinn Fein welcomes suicide prevention initiative

Strabane Sinn Fein Councillor Brian Mc Mahon has described today’s launch, by Direct Rule Health Minister Paul Goggins, of a mentoring pilot scheme to provide support for those who self-harm in the Western Health & Social Services Board Area as one important practical step in the development of a multi-faceted and all-Ireland approach to suicide prevention.


Cllr Mc Mahon said,
“Last year, there were more than 600 deaths by suicide on the island of Ireland, a significant increase on the previous year. The north west, including Strabane District, is one of the areas worst affected by the tragedy of suicide so this pilot scheme is a much intervention to provide support for those vulnerable and at risk to suicide.


“A mentoring scheme will be offered to those who present to Accident & Emergency at Altnagelvin Hospital following an incident of self-harming, and through the support of a mentor a person will be offered help to identify and address the causes of their self-harm and by receiving help to reduce the levels of distress felt by these each person it is hoped that this will ultimately help in reducing the number of people at risk of suicide.”


However, as hospital admission statistics are likely to under-estimate the scale of the problem since not all incidents of self-harm are presented for medical attention, and only a proportion of those who do attend Accident & Emergency are admitted to hospital, there is a need for the community awareness campaign in the north west to ensure that this service can be accessed through other avenues, either directly by an individual or family member or through secondary referrals. I will therefore be requesting that co-ordinators of the pilot scheme be asked to come to Strabane Council and discuss ways of highlighting the availability of this service throughout he local community and to other communities in the Western Board Area


The pilot scheme will run until March 2008, when it will be fully evaluated. If it proves successful, the Department of Health will look to roll out across the six counties.


Sinn Fein has been to the forefront in the campaign for a holistic suicide preventation strategy to be developed on an all-Ireland basis and yesterday a Sinn Féin delegation led by Party President Gerry Adams met the British Health Minister Paul Goggins to review progress on the suicide prevention strategy that was finally was launched by the Department of Health in the six counties on 30 October 2006.


The Sinn Fein delegation urged Paul Goggins to: speedily extend the telephone hotline currently in operation in north and west Belfast to all areas and ensure that it is properly funded and to exert pressure on mobile phone companies to provide a free phone service for anyone phoning the helpline from their mobile phones.


The delegation also raised with the Minister the absence of any visible action on an all-Ireland basis, despite our constant demand that this be put in place. It doesn't make sense that there is no joined up approach between the two Health departments. There is an urgent need for a suicide awareness campaign on an all-Ireland basis.


The Minister told the delegation that he will be putting a proposal on this to the Suicide Strategy Implementation Group on January 17th, and Sinn Fein will be seeking an urgent meeting with the Irish government to discuss this."