More funds essential to tackle suicide

WITH suicide now among the most serious problems confronting society today, it is alarming to learn that GPs are having to send patients who attempt to take their own lives to the accident and emergency units of the country’s hospitals.

Lacks of resources in the country’s overburdened psychiatric service is a major aspect of the suicide crisis. Because of difficulties in securing urgent psychiatric reviews, people at risk often end up in overstretched A&E departments.

Of major concern is the large number of people who cannot afford to pay privately for counselling. This means many patients fall through the net and never receive the appropriate treatment.