TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016 WEXFORDECHONEWSPAPERSNEWS30

A NEW suicide and self-harm crisis centre issoon set to open inWaterford and beginproviding support topeople in crisis acrossthe South-East region.

Pieta House willlocate their tenth centrein Waterford, while thecharityhavealsorecent-ly taken on the suicidebereavementservices inWexford which werepreviously offered byConsole.

Speaking recently,Director of Research,Education and Trainingwith the charity, PaulSurgenor, addressedcomparatively high sui-cideratesamongmeninWexford.

“Itcanoftenbeachal-lengetogetmentoenterinto therapy,” Mr.Surgenor said.

“The good news isthatoncetheyenter theybenefi t equal ly towomen.

“We have researchthat shows post-therapylevelsof self-esteemanddesire to live were actu-ally higher for men thanwomen,” the Directorhighlighted.

The charity havelaunched a series of ini-tiatives in recent years,focusing on promotingpositive mental healthamongmenspecifically.

“We’ve partneredwith the Gaelic AthleticAssociation (GAA) andIrish Rugby FootballUnion (IRFU) for ourMind Ur Buddy cam-paigns and have ongo-ing Mind Our Menevents such as our‘Bounce of the Ball’evening on Internation-al Men’s Day,” Mr.Surgenor said.

Footbal lers AlanO’Mara,CavanandGarySice, Galway, recentlyjoined camogie playerAshling Thompson forthe launch of the GAA’sfirst ever mental healththeme day, which willcoincidewith thedateofthe All-Ireland seniorfootball semi-final onAugust 28th.

Anyone in a time ofcrisis can call PietaHouse’s free 24/7 sui-cide helpline on 1800247 247 or text HELP to51444.

PietaHousecome toSouth-East

Mental Health Taskforceshould Reduce StigmaMINISTER PAUL Kehoe hasexpressed his support for theestablishment of a new YouthMental Health Task force,approved by government lastweek. The new body will aim toenhance awareness among chil-dren and young people andreduce the stigma that often sur-rounds mental health.

“It is vital that we work with theyouth to educate them in allaspects of mental health and thisnew initiative will be very muchtaskedwithbeinganactiongroup.There is no deadline for a glossyreport of recommendations.Instead, this group will aim toactivelyput forwardproposalsandaction plans on a regular basisaimed at helping to nurture psy-chological confidence,” said the

Minister.The task force, which will be

chaired by Minister of State forMental Health and Older People,Helen McEntee will be a continu-ous, evolving body with less than20memberswhenit is fullyupandrunning in September.

The Department of Educationand Skills, and the Department ofChildren and Youth Affairs will beinvolved in its operation in addi-tiontohigh-profilecelebrityadvo-cates and representatives of socialmedia and broadcast media.

“This group will be tasked withcoming up with workable strate-gies tohelpyoungpeople learnthepsychological tools to better copewith the painful difficulties theyface throughout their lifetime. Itwill also create awareness of the

supports that are available andmakethemmoreaccessiblewithincommunities for young people,”added Minister Kehoe, who has

been criticised for failing to attendtwo public demonstrations inWexford and Enniscorthy to raiseawareness about mental healthdifficulties in the county.

“Another key ambition is tobuild on the growing opennessamong young people to talk aboutthe emotional minefield they canface inaneraofcyberbullyingandheightenedpeerpressure.There isconsensus inGovernment that theeducation system - particularly atprimary and secondary level - isthe key to greater awareness, cul-tural changes, prevention andearly intervention. Using theschools system, the task force willaim to reduce the stigma aroundmental Illness.

One in four people will developa difficulty with their mental

health at some stage in their lives.The Programme for Governmentrecognises that the stigma associ-ated with mental health still existsand that greater investment in ser-vices is required as a matter ofurgency.

“This Government is commit-ted to tackling the issues sur-rounding Mental Health head-on.We have to focus on both servicesand prevention in our approach. Ihave spoken directly to MinisterMcEnteeandMinisterSimonHar-ris to seek an immediate review ofservices in Wexford, in particularwith a view to establishing a24houracuteserviceand will con-tinue to work with the Ministersand Department to improve ser-vices in the County,” said the Min-ister.

Minister Paul Kehoe.

Lack of services forcessuicidal son’s restraintA WEXFORD town family isforced to restrain a son intheir home to prevent himfrom attempting suicide fora third time.

A report on Fridayrevealed that the family saidthe HSE claims he is not inneed of acute psychiatriccare.

When contacted by TheEcho yesterday, a HSEspokesperson said theorganisation does not com-ment on individual casesbut is“happytodosodirect-ly with a patient and theirfamilies”.

“In the case of such anenquiry the mental healthservices locally can be con-tacted by phone at 053-9243255,” he added.

The man at the centre ofthe media report is a27-year-old heroin addictwho is said to be in a verydistressed state, havingrecently become homeless.

Theman’sbrothersaidheposes a threat to others dueto his current mental stateand he recently attackedboth his mother, who is inher 60s, and another broth-er.

The man also committedrobbery in recent weeks tofeed his drug habit and thatisbeing investigatedbyGar-

dai.The brother believes that

‘services’ in the south easthave let the family downand they feel there isnowhere for them to gethelp.

“We’ve been told that heneedstobesectionedunderthementalhealthactbutwecan’t get him in there.”

Hesaidthatafter themostrecent [suicide] attempt hetook his brother to Caredocbut was told to bring him toWexford General Hospital.

From there he was sent toWaterfordUniversityHospi-tal, from where he was dis-charged , after beingassessed by a psychiatricnurse–havingwaiteduntil5a.m.!

‘We were told to take himhome and that he was beingreferred to Summerhill,’ the

man said.When the family contact-

ed the community-basedmental health service inWexford, they were told theman couldn’t be treatedthere because he hadn’tbeen referred.

The brother said the fam-ily is going out of their mindand feel the case wasn’tgiven priority because hissibling was willing to beadmitted for help voluntari-ly.

Theysaidthat ifhehadherefused to go and beenbrought by Garda escort hewould have been more like-ly to have been given a bed.

‘My mother can’t lookafter him on her own,’ saidthe man’s brother.

Having been prescribedvalium for his anxiety thefamily fear that the man will

take all of his medication atonce take and as a resulthave tomanagehismedica-tion carefully.

‘He needs to be in anenvironmentwherehecan’thurt himself or anyone else,’said his brother.

The HSE spokesperson,meanwhile,offeredto“reas-sure people in Wexford thatmental health services [inthe county] are available topatients seven-days-perweek, 365 days-per-year”.

He said the organisationhad included a capitalinvestment of €18m in itsexpansion of mental healthservices in Wexford andWaterford since 2011 – inline with the national men-tal health strategy, ‘Visionfor Change’.

“Thesedevelopmentsseethe vast majority of clients

being treated in the com-munity bybuildingonexist-ing community mentalhealth teams, outpatientclinics, hostels and day ser-vices – with only a smallnumberrequiringcare inanacute inpatient setting,” thespokesperson told TheEcho.

“This approach to deliv-ering services is fully in linewith‘VisionforChange’andis considered best practice,bothnationallyandinterna-tionally.”

The HSE currently oper-ates two Mental Health DayHospitals inGoreyandWex-ford town – seven-days-perweek.

It also has three new HighSupport Residences on thegrounds of St. John’s Com-munity Hospital, Enniscor-thy and uses 20 beds at the

Farnogue CommunityNursingUnitonthegroundsofWexfordGeneralHospitalfor mental health services.

“Development in com-munity services, where dayservices are increased andimprovementsmadeinhowcommunity mental healthteams work, has a positiveaffect as regards acuteadmissions,” said thespokesperson.

“For the small number ofpeople who require inpa-tient treatment this is avail-able in the Department ofPsychiatry at UniversityHospital Waterford or inNewcastle Hospital, CoWicklow, for north Co. Wex-ford patients,” he added.

The contact numbers forcommunity based supportorganisations for peoplewho are experiencing men-tal health diff icultiesinclude: Suicide Helpline(1800247247) (Text: HELPto51444),WexfordBereave-ment Counselling Service(053-9122787), Samaritans(1850609090),and theFarm& Rural Stress Helpline(1800742645).

Additionally people canalsoavailof theWexfordSelfHarm Intervention Service(SHIP) by asking their doc-tor for a referral).

Are suicide figures wrong?by Geni Murphy

WEXFORD SUICIDE ratesare reported as beingamong the highest in thecountry after Cork City,Limerick City and CountyKerry.

However, there is reasonto believe that these statis-tics may not provide anaccurate reflection of theactual numbers takingtheir own lives.

Suicide figures are com-

piled by the Central Statis-tics Office (CSO), whichrelies on the records for-warded to them by the 42Coronersbasedaroundthecountry.

However there are noclearly defined rules inplace for coroners regard-ing the recording of sui-cides and therefore a greatdisparity in numbersrecorded ineachcounty.

Some coroners simplyrefuse to recordaverdictof

suicide, sometimes out ofsympathy for the familyand insomecasesbecausethey believe the law doesnot allow them to do so.The late Limerick coroner,Brendan Nix said that henever officially recorded asuicide verdict because anoutdated lawprevented it.

In contrast, the numberof cases being recorded assuicides at Wexford coro-ner’s court has been caus-ing alarm in the county for

a number of years. Some-timesasmanyas50%ofthecases coming before DrSeanNixonarerecordedassuicide.

“I bring in the verdictthat I think is the correctone. I don’t think that thestigma is there surround-ing suicide anymore. Weneed to get to the stagewhere if it isasuicide itgetsreported as suicide,” hesaid.

Before the de-criminali-

sation of suicide in 1993, itwas illegal for coroners torecord a verdict of suicide.However a grey-area with-

in the law still exists whichmeans that some coronersareuncomfortablewiththerecordingof this verdict.

This means that manycases of drowning and sin-glecarcollisions,whichthecontextandcircumstancesof would suggest are sui-cides,arenotbeingrecord-edas such.

Ifacoroner fails todeter-mine a verdict, the CSOcanre-examinethefileandcan record a statisticaldeath of suicide, or what-ever it sees fit.

However, the limiteddataavailable inaninquestreport does not provide anaccurate reflection of thecircumstances surround-ing thedeath.

President of the IrishAssociation of Suicidologyand former TD Dan Nev-ille, who played a criticalrole in having suicidedecriminalised, has criti-cised coroners for notaccurately recordingdeaths, even though hebelieves they are doing soin an attempt to protectfamilies from further trau-ma.

If youareaffectedbyanyof the issues raised in thisreport,youcancontactTheSamaritans on phone 116123.

RTE highlightsEcho reportsinto suicidesby Sarah Bermingham

THE MINISTER for Statewith responsibility for Men-tal Health has addressed theneed for improved mentalhealth services to be madeaccessible in County Wex-ford.

Speaking on the TodaywithSeánO’RourkeshowonRTÉ Radio 1 last week, Min-is ter Helen McEnteeresponded to commentsmade by Wexford womanColette Nolan on the showthe previous day in relationtoherbrother’s suicide.

Ms.NolanjoinedEditorofthe Wexford Echo, TomMooney, as well as ShariMcDaid of mental healthadvocacy group MentalHealth Reform on the pro-gramme on Thursday last todiscussgaps in theprovisionof mental health care inWexford.

“My heart broke forColette; no-one should haveto go through that,” the Min-ister told host Keelin Shan-ley.

“I cannot hear anotherstory like that. I refuse tohave another story like that,”

sheadded.The Minister, who was

appointedto thepost inMayof this year, said that shehadn’t previously beenaware of the specifics of Ms.Nolan’s brother’s case, butthat she had followed up onitwith theHSE.

However, Ms. McEnteequestioned that “when theywere told there no bedsavailable inWaterford...whyperhaps did they not seek tosendhimelsewhere?”

She said that operationalplans regarding mentalhealthserviceswere inplace

ineachregionof thecountrybut while these “work reallywell” in some parts of thecountry, they are “obviouslynot working as they shouldinWexford.”

Minister McEntee spokeof how the model of mentalhealth care provision in Ire-land has changed overrecent years towards amodelofcare inthepatient’scommunity, as per the‘Vision for Change’ frame-work.

Adequate investment, shesaid, however, has not beenchanneled into fundingcommunity services so theycan be comprehensivelysuccessful.

“That’swhatwe’re lookingtodonow,” theMinistersaid.

“We need to continueinvesting in the services wehave,” sheadded.

The Minister was speak-ing on the day on whichdetails were announced of anew taskforce set up to tack-le the issue of high suicideratesamongyoungpeopleinIreland.

Some 451 people tooktheirownlives inIrelandlastyear, while the country alsohas one of the highest ratesof suicide among youngpeople inEurope.

The taskforce aims totackletheissuethroughedu-cation with an emphasis onresilience.

“If you can deal with theproblem before it reaches acrisis point... you’ll morethan likely be able to sustainthat,”MinisterMcEnteesaid.

WEXFORDECHONEWSPAPERS TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2016 NEWS 31

Coronor Sean Nixon.