Ramsammy, Gossai outline national strategy for curbing suicide

Source: Guyana Chronicle, 5th May 2008

SUICIDE, a leading cause of death in Guyana, has been declared a major public health issue, on the basis of a study done by the Ministry of Health.

Based on the findings of the survey, it was recognised as having severe negative consequences on the social fabric of society.

Cognisant of the concern requiring a response, the Ministry of Health has established a National Committee for Suicide Prevention (NCSP), the Minister, Dr Leslie Ramsammy disclosed last week.

In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, he acknowledged that suicide traumatises everyone and, as Guyana develops a programme for it, there is need to think of prevention and create a format to deal with those families who have suffered the experience.

“The problem in Guyana is a serious one. Many people in Guyana believe that suicide is a peculiarly Guyanese problem. But it is not, it is a humanity problem. The issues are many and we have to address them.

“At the end of the day, if you ask people what are the reasons for suicide, they will tell you, domestic or financial problems.

“But this is not the direct problem. It is the symptom of the problem,” Ramsammy posited.

He explained that, when domestic and financial problems are carefully examined, it would be discovered that a lot of people suffer from depression, which is the major cause of suicide in this country.

Alcohol
Ramsammy pointed out that, if suicide is to be eliminated, issues of mental health must be addressed across the country, as well as the abusive consumption of alcohol.

According to the minister, people who have mental health problems and consume a lot of alcohol become vulnerable and the habit of sustained use dependency must also be taken into account.

Ramsammy said the Health Ministry, together with civil society organisations, has been working on providing treatment and support for potential victims and, soon, the ministry will be developing a scheme, to be launched in June, for treating persons suffering substance use dependency.

It will be established first at Georgetown Public Hospital (GPH) and New Amsterdam Hospital in Berbice, then countrywide, Ramsammy said.

He said, during the years when the problem of mental health was emerging, individuals were not diagnosed nor received treatment and many people died as a result of suicide, because of lack of diagnosis.

Ramsammy said programmes are being expanded this year and will focus on detecting mental health at an early stage.

Plans are underway to benefit persons in every community, not just at the named hospitals and more people would get early diagnosis, he revealed.

Ramsammy said an awareness drive is also expected to start, so that families can be able to recognise the symptoms of suicide early.

“We need to have a national awareness programme where everyone is involved and is aware. So that we can therefore make early identification of the symptoms instead of waiting until the problem becomes severe,” he reiterated.

Minister Ramsammy said, recognising that many health care workers are not trained enough to handle mental cases, the ministry will initiate training for all of them.

He said, with the new approaches to mental health, he is confident of a reduction in suicides.

Agreeing with Ramsammy, Co-Chairman of NCSP, Shri Prakash Gossai advocated that all religious leaders should spread the message about the value of life.

The Special Assistant to President Bharrat Jagdeo believes that, through that strategy, the issue of suicide will be curbed, towards the final goal of eradication.

Gossai said the committee will be conducting seminars and workshops in every region but the simple analysis to prevent suicide is to talk to people and isolate, from society, the things that are used to commit the act.

“Long ago, people used to use the ‘Panchayat’ system to help solve family issues that led to suicide,” he recalled, stating that the procedure was for people in the community to come together as one to solve problems.

“But now, in these modern times, we keep everything to ourselves and the Panchayat system was demolished,” he lamented.

Objectives
The NCSP was established in March 2007 and is currently in the ground stage of developing, with the objectives being to:

* reduce premature deaths due to suicide;

* lower the rate of suicidal behaviour;

* decrease the harmful aftermath and stigma associated with suicidal behaviour and the traumatic effect of suicide on family and friends and

* promote awareness that suicide is preventable and train more persons in recognising mental health problems.

In order to achieve those goals, the committee has to:

* develop a strategy for the control and prevention of suicide;

* conduct seminars on mental health with a focus on suicidal behaviour and ability to recognise same (with emphasis on causes, consequences and prevention);

* conduct workshops on stress management, substance abuse and other suicide-related issues;

* organise more public education and awareness programmes, using the media (TV, radio and newspapers) to increase knowledge about symptoms of depression and the warning signs of suicidal thinking and behaviour;

* provide training for social and community workers to understand and use intervention skills that can help avert the tragedy of suicide;

* establish hot lines and other points of contact for easy reach of the public;

* establish mechanisms for providing counselling services for those who have attempted suicide and families of those who have committed the act;

* recommend appropriate policy measures and social action, with a view to bringing the suicide rate down and even eliminate it and

* ensure that target groups for training and awareness activities include parents, teachers, priests and other religious leaders, police officers and journalists, community and youth leaders.

The NCSP includes representatives of the Ministries of Education, Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Home Affairs, Culture, Youth and Sport and Amerindian Affairs.

Represented on that body, too, are the public and private sectors, non-governmental organisations, the religious community, Pan American Health Organisation/World Health Organisation (PAHO/WHO), United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), Region Five (Mahaica/ Berbice) and Region Six (East Berbice/Corentyne) AIDS Committees, University of Guyana Berbice Campus and the legal fraternity.

Psychiatrists, Dr. Bhiro Harry and Dr. Frank Beckles are also members of the NCSP.