Sir, - K. Humphries (November 29th) referred to issues which affect men's health, and in particular questioned the level of funding allocated to address the issue of suicide among young males.
The Minister for Health and Children, Mr Brian Cowen TD, has asked me to outline the significant and ongoing development of services in this area. The final report of the National Task Force on Suicide was published in 1998 and since then a national suicide prevention/reduction strategy has commenced with a partnership approach adopted between statutory and non-statutory services. A suicide research group has also been established by the health boards to conduct research and advise health boards on measures to prevent and reduce suicide and attempted suicide. All health boards have now appointed resource officers and have established multi-sectoral and multi-disciplinary working groups to examine the implementation of the recommendations of the report. The promotion of positive mental health and the destigmatisation of suicide, provision of information in relation to suicide and parasuicide, liaison with the media and provision of training for staff in relation to suicide and parasuicide are all areas which are currently being pursued by Health Boards.
Health Boards are also examining ways in which mental health services can be made more accessible and the provision of crisis intervention services is being examined by a number of boards. In this regard the priority is being given to the further development of mental health services for groups at risk of suicide, particularly the young and older age sectors of our population.
The Minister has also allocated a sum of £1 million, recently announced in the Budget, to go towards suicide prevention programmes in the health boards and towards research aimed at improving our understanding of this disturbing social problem. £200,000 is also being provided this year for the establishment, by the National Research Foundation in Cork, of a National Parasuicide Register and the availability of this national information will contribute hugely to a suicide prevention strategy.
In the circumstances, I am sure your correspondent will agree that the detailed structures now in place within the health sector are well placed to encourage the promotion of positive mental health with a view to reducing the overall rate of suicide in this country. - Yours, etc.,
Gerry Steadman, Communications Manager, Department of Health, Hawkins House, Dublin 2.