Taboo subject needs review

YOU’D like to think we are making headways in battling the Far North’s suicide epidemic, which has been slowly increasing, year by year.

In January 2018, we reported that 60 people took their own lives in the region during 2017 — most of these in Cairns — up from 50 the year before.

The number was almost triple the region’s road toll, which stood at 22 last year. We can’t tell you how many Far North Queenslanders died by suicide this year, because police will not release figures, as they have done in previous years. So the amount of people in this region who have been affected by suicide will, for the time being, go unreported. At least publicly. Suicide prevention expert Gerry Georgatos, who has flown from Perth to Cairns to help two families with young children — one as young as 7 — who have tried to take their own lives, believes this is a taboo subject that we need to be discussing more. He says unless people know the extensiveness of the issue, it cannot be addressed properly.

Now, there has been some huge gains in the mental health space in the Far North in recent years, particularly in the public sector.

Cairns Hospital’s mental health unit is to undergo a much needed major redevelopment, and the health service recently opened up a youth facility at Manoora. And taking action on suicide and mental health breakdowns, also emerged as Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s chief goals at the recent COAG meeting in Cairns. But, with this week being FNQ Suicide Prevention Week, the lack of data on this scourge facing our communities needs to be part of the discussion on how to prevent it.

The more people know about the suicide crisis in the Far North, ultimately, the better we can fight it. Daniel Bateman daniel.bateman@news.com.au