Some 8,500 people attended hospital accident and emergency departments in 2002 with injuries they suffered when trying to kill themselves, new figures show.
The patients accounted for approximately 10,500 A&E attendances in 2002, as one in five cases was due to repeat acts of harming themselves.
Among those attending were children as young as five, according to the latest annual report from the National Parasuicide Registry, which has been seen by The Irish Times. It is to be published next month.
Two boys aged between five and nine were treated for deliberate self-harm at Temple Street Children's Hospital in Dublin in 2002, the report says. A further 201 children aged between 10 and 14 were also treated for attempted suicide, it adds.
The children in the 10-14 age bracket included 45 boys and 156 girls. While they were mostly seen at hospitals in the eastern region, children in this age group presented at hospitals in all health board areas.
Some 51 children aged 10-14 were treated in A&Es in the ERHA area, 18 in the Midland Health Board area, 21 in the Mid-Western Health Board area, 24 in the North Eastern Health Board area, 13 in the NorthWestern Health Board area, 14 in the South Eastern Health Board area, 22 in the Southern Health Board area, and 38 in the Western Health Board area.
Other than chronicling the numbers of parasuicides seen in A&E departments, the report offers no explanation for such young children attempting suicide. The data was collected from 35 acute-care hospitals across the State. This included all hospitals with A&E units outside the Eastern Regional Health Authority Area (ERHA) and all but a handful of hospitals in the ERHA area. Women, the report said, were treated more often for attempted suicide than men. Overdosing on drugs was the most common method chosen. Minor tranquillisers were the drugs most often used.
Referring to the fact that one in five of the A&E attendances was by a person who had repeated a suicide attempt, the report said: "Repeated acts of self-harm represent a significant problem. The development and delivery of interventions for this difficult to reach patient group must be prioritised."
The way in which A&E attendances were dealt with varied according to health board area. In the ERHA area, inpatient care was recommended in just half of cases presenting.
This was lower than in all other areas. Recommendations for inpatient care elsewhere ranged from 65 per cent of cases in the Southern Health Board region to 86 per cent in the South Eastern Health Board area. More than 100 patients left the A&E unit before even being treated.