Over 100 suicides recorded in 2016

Jan 24, 2017 News

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– Ministry on continued mission to reduce scourge

Up to September last year there were a total of 106 recorded cases of suicide. But according to Chief

Medical Officer (CMO), Dr. Shamdeo Persaud, the Ministry of Public Health will be able to say definitely how many such acts were committed during the past year by March of this year. “We are statutorily due to provide such data by March,” said Dr. Persaud as he explained that the Ministry usually has to undertake a validation process of each reported case after which they are entered into a data system.
The validation, he noted, is an essential requirement.
“There are some cases that are obvious suicides that are reported in the media but there are some that have to be investigated before the final figure (number of suicides) is decided on,” related the CMO.
While the actual number of cases of suicide for last year is still pending, data from the Ministry of Public Health indicate that there were a total of 179 cases the previous year.
In its quest to combat the evident scourge of suicide, the Ministry will this year continue a number of ‘suicide deterrent’ measures. These, the Ministry has revealed, will include among other things, that efforts be made to ensure that existing laws and regulations regarding pesticide sale, use and storage are being enforced.
Added to this, moves will be made to train at least 50 percent of Primary Health Care doctors in mhGAP-Intervention Guide.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) Mental Health Gap Action Programme (mhGAP) aims at scaling up services for mental, neurological and substance use disorders for countries, especially with low- and middle-income. The programme asserts that with proper care, psychosocial assistance and medication, tens of millions could be treated for depression, schizophrenia, and epilepsy, prevented from suicide and begin to lead normal lives – even where resources are scarce.
The Public Health Ministry, as part of its suicide prevention plan, is also this year aiming to increase the number of beds added to the inpatient service offered at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation’s psychiatry department. This will be done, even as the Ministry seeks to incorporate important mental health topics into the Health and Family Life Education syllabus in secondary schools.
In January of last year an emergency Suicide Prevention Plan Stakeholders meeting was convened at the Marriot Hotel. Four task forces were set up, each with responsibility for one of the strategic lines of action. This was followed in April by a National Stakeholders meeting at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre. Added to this, several task force meetings were held with members between April to May of 2016.
In 2016 too, numerous other activities were conducted to raise awareness of Mental Health and suicide among health care providers and the general public. The staff of the Mental Health Unit was tasked with visiting churches, various communities and schools and various forums to deliver mental health and suicide talks, including in Victoria village on the East Coast of Demerara, Lodge, and to a wide audience during the 2016 hosting of GuyExpo.
The Mental Health Unit last year, too, conducted numerous outreaches and suicide prevention programmes in churches, schools and communities, including at Seventh day Adventist churches, J.C. Chandisingh Secondary School, Port Mourant, and Corentyne.
The staff of the Mental Health Unit also collaborated with the Ministry of Education to conduct a ‘Strategic Psychosocial Interventions for Adolescents in 11 Secondary Schools’ programme organized by the Guyana Psychological Association and the National Communications Network. One thousand two hundred and fifty students between third and sixth forms were randomly screened for suicidal ideation (the formation of ideas or concepts) using the Beck Depression Inventory.
The Beck Depression Inventory is a 21-question multiple-choice self report inventory which is one of the most widely used psychometric tests for measuring the severity of depression.
Its development reportedly marked a shift among mental health professionals, who had until then, viewed depression from a psychodynamic perspective, instead of it being rooted in the patient’s own thoughts.
In its current version, the Depression Inventory is designed for individuals aged 13 and over, and is composed of items relating to symptoms of depression such as hopelessness and irritability, cognitions such as guilt or feelings of being punished, as well as physical symptoms such as fatigue, weight loss, and lack of interest.

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