Scottish Government must act to lower the tragically high number of suicides
Earlier in December, the Commons Health Select Committee published a powerful report into suicide prevention in England. It concluded that there had been a failure to translate the Westminster Government’s suicide prevention strategy into actual improvements and that “the scale of the avoidable loss of life from suicide is unacceptable”.
Suicide is rarely treated as a priority for governments, yet there is no doubt it is a major health issue that takes the lives and futures away from too many of the people we love. Between 2009 and 2014 nearly 4,500 people died from suicide in Scotland. As well as the huge impact that has on so many families across Scotland, suicide remains the single biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK and of young people aged 20-34.
The Scottish Government is due to publish a renewed Suicide Prevention Strategy in 2017 and we face many of the same challenges. As such, we urge the Scottish Government to take account of the review findings.
Most people who take their own life in Scotland have no contact with specialist mental health services in the 12 months before their death – and that is not because they are all “unreachable”.
Measures to improve identification of those at increased risk of suicide, and the provision of accessible local support, is crucial.
However, commitments to this mean little if not properly funded and implemented. Application of the English strategy was considered “highly variable and subject to insufficient oversight”. To avoid the issues England has faced, Scotland’s strategy must include a clear implementation programme, with strong national leadership, clear accountability and regular scrutiny.
Every six seconds someone contacts Samaritans for help. Suicide is never inevitable. This report should serve as both a wake-up call to Westminster and a very clear message to the Scottish Government about why we must renew and reinvigorate efforts to save more lives and more families from the terrible impact that every suicide brings.
JAMES JOPLING
Executive Director Samaritans Scotland