Suicide risks - Specialist teams are only a start

Providing specialist teams at Accident and Emergency departments to treat self-harm patients is a very commendable idea and, while it only broaches part of the problem, it is an initiative worth pursuing.

A study undertaken in the Mater Hospital in Dublin highlights this as a possible way to reduce the rate of suicide among young people, so it must warrant serious consideration.

Suicide accounts for more deaths annually than do road traffic accidents. There are also several thousand parasuicidal incidents non-fatal suicidal behaviour the preponderance of them among women, especially those between 15 and 19 years of age.