Suicidal teenager waited three months for help

A suicidal teenager had to wait up to three months for counselling, a support group in the North claimed today.

Public Initiative for the Prevention of Suicide and Self Harm (Pips) chairman Philip McTaggart said families left caring for depressed sufferers woke up every day fearing the worst.

There were 291 deaths last year in the North, almost double the average of earlier years.

Mr McTaggart was speaking as the North’s four daily newspapers joined forces to call for action on World Suicide Prevention Day.

Mr McTaggart lost his son, also Philip – after whom the organisation was named - four years ago and said: “I was left alone with no-one coming to help me and I don’t want that to happen to someone else.

“People who are depressed or have other issues pose a threat to themselves and their family is walking on eggshells, wondering what that person is doing upstairs, what they are doing when they leave the house.

“I have heard of family members having to follow them without being seen when they go out to make sure they are safe.”

Mr McTaggart added that he had worked with one north Belfast youth aged 18 or 19 who had to wait three months for counselling and said there needed to be better education and employment opportunities.

A death can prompt copycat action among friends and family and many unsuccessful attempts are hidden.

The Pips head said: “We are being inundated with calls from people looking for help, we are sending people to services that are supposed to be there and are not.

“We need more doctors and professionals in place, we need counsellors and we need them now.”

Extra official money has been allocated for a 24-hour helpline and Minister for Health Michael McGimpsey has met a number of internet providers in a bid to stop websites being used to promote suicide among young people.

The Department has found that those living in violence-racked areas were more prone to depression and said the Northern Ireland conflict limited public recognition of suicide.

The Daily Mirror, Irish News, News Letter and Belfast Telegraph are highlighting the issue today.

A spokesman for the papers said one person was dying every day and Government figures did not reflect the extent of the losses.

“Together we must bring an end to silent hopelessness that haunts thousands of people in our cities, towns, villages and remote rural homes,” he said.

“The cost of suicide in human terms is unfathomable, with families left to cope with shocking loss and endless questions. At the same time, they face a much greater risk of another suicide happening within the family circle.

“But the economic cost to the country is enormous too. For every person who dies by suicide the economy loses £1.4m (€2.06m) in earnings, taxes and the financial value of child care, voluntary work and other contributions.”