Wednesday, February 22, 2012
More than 80% of people who died by suicide had been in contact with a GP or mental health service in the year prior to their death, a study has found.
The report by the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF), which looked at 190 cases of suicide in Cork City and county between Sept 2008 and Mar 2011, also found that in 60% of cases the person had been in contact with a GP at least four times in the 12 months before taking their lives.
The Suicide Support and Information System (SSIS) pilot study was based on research with coroners, healthcare professionals and family members. More than 80% of cases involved men.
NSRF director of research Dr Ella Arensman said the findings indicated a potential within GP practices to pick up on signs of depression at a very early stage and to identify signs of self-harm and suicide.
"There is a very strong link between depression, self-harm and suicide. Forty-five percent of all the suicides had a history of at least one act of self-harm. There is so much potential with the GPs that we’re not using optimally," she said.
Dr Arensman said it was generally harder to identify depression and suicidal behaviour in men.
She said the National Office for Suicide Prevention, in collaboration with the Irish College of General Practitioners was now prioritising training for GPs.
Suicide awareness activist and senator John Gilroy said there was a need for increased training of GPs to recognise the early symptoms of depression.
"One of the first symptoms of an impending depression is an inability to sleep or sleep disturbance. Very often people with an impending depression go to the doctor with these symptoms and the GPs don’t recognise it and prescribe sleeping tablets," said Mr Gilroy, one of the founding members of Safe (Suicide Awareness For Everyone), a group based in the Cork suburbs of Glanmire and Mayfield.
In a written statement, Dr John Ball, spokesman for the Irish College of General Practitioners said the training of Irish general practitioners had a "heavy focus" on mental health, and that the complex issues of suicide and depression were dealt with comprehensively.
"Sleep problems are always an indicator for further exploration for doctors and the recommendations on any ‘sleeping tablet’ prescribing is suitably restrictive," he said.
Funding for the SSIS study has ceased since March 2011.
© Examiner Publications (Cork) Limited, City Quarter, Lapps Quay, Cork. Registered in Ireland: 73385.
