Suicide increase of more than 35% in South

Deborah Marshall.
Deborah Marshall.
Suicide levels in the Southern district have risen by more than 35% in the past 12 months, according to figures released yesterday by the Chief Coroner.

Provisional suicide figures for the period from July 2014-June 2015 released by Chief Coroner Judge Deborah Marshall showed the number of provisional suicides had risen to 42, up 35.4% from the previous 12 months.

However, this is well below the 60 deaths attributed to suicide in the 2009-10 year.

Nationally, provisional suicides had risen to 564, up 6.6% from last year, and were the highest since figures were first released in 2007-08.

''Over the last eight years, I believe we've seen a shift in society's preparedness to have a more open conversation about suicide, but we are not seeing any movement in what is an unfortunate static annual figure,'' Judge Marshall said.

''Yet again, we are seeing a total suicide figure sitting in the mid-500 range. Our provisional suicide figures go back eight years and, in that time, there has been a variation of 35 suicide deaths.''

Judge Marshall acknowledged the greater effort being put into suicide prevention, including the Ministry of Health's recently launched suicide prevention toolkit for district health boards and the trial Suicide Mortality Review Committee.

''I am in my first year as Chief Coroner and, in that time, I have been approached by many researchers and organisations that want to participate in changing our appalling rate of suicide,'' she said.

''Suicide prevention is not the job of any single agency or group, but involves all New Zealanders. Greater co-ordination of efforts may be the key.

''The aim of making these annual figures public is to give an up-to-date overview of what is a very important social issue.''

Judge Marshall acknowledged that while provisional deaths by suicide were at their highest, the suicide rate - the number of suicides per 100,000 population - was below the 2010-11 and 2011-12 years.

Otago-Southland Life Matters Suicide Prevention Trust chairwoman Corinda Taylor said more support was needed for vulnerable people who were ''slipping through the cracks''.

''Obviously, what our New Zealand Government is doing is not working,'' she said.

''Many people fall through the cracks in the system.

''Today, I was told of a person who overdosed, went to hospital, was discharged and there was no follow-up.

''There is no robust, critical assessment system in place.

''There needs to be a safety net to catch these people.''

The Government needed to mandate training for all front-line staff dealing with vulnerable people, Mrs Taylor said.

That included asking if a person was suicidal, and implementing regular check-ups and a treatment plan, if necessary.

Free counselling should be available to all those who needed it, Mrs Taylor said.

Families also needed to be involved in meetings between people who were receiving help and their counsellors, she said.

 


Suicide: The facts

Where to get help

Suicide Crisis Helpline: 0508-828-865

 

The statistics

The 2014-15 annual provisional suicide statistics show. -

• A rise in the number of male suicides from 385 last year, to 428, which is the highest number of male suicides since these statistics began in 2007. However, by rate (18.96 per 100,000) it is the third highest since 2007.

• A drop in the number of female suicides from 144 last year to 136, which is the second lowest figure behind 134 (2007/08).

• The age cohort with the highest number of suicides was the 20-24-year-old group, with 61 deaths, followed by the 40-44-year-old group, with 58 deaths.

• Male suicides made up 75.8% of the total suicides for the year. This 3:1, male:female suicide rate has been observed for most of the past eight years, apart from the previous two years, where the ratio was about 2.5:1.

• The Maori suicide total (130 deaths) and rate (21.74 per 100,000) are the highest since the provisional statistics were first recorded for the 2007-08 year. Male Maori continue to be disproportionately represented in the provisional suicide statistics, with 93 deaths last year.

 

The numbers

SDHB                                 Total

2007-08                              37

2008-09                              49

2009-10                              60

2010-11                              45

2011-12                              42

2012-13                              47

2013-14                              31

2014-1542

Total                                  353

Note: The information provided relates to provisional suicide figures and will slightly differ from the Ministry of Health figures. They include active cases before coroners where intent has yet to be established therefore may eventually be found not to be suicides. In addition, Ministry of Health figures are recorded by calendar year.


 

 

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