MOVES TO regulate suicide prevention groups around the country will
begin in the new year, the Minister of State for Mental Health has said.
All
organisations involved in suicide prevention are to be invited to a
meeting with the Minister, John Moloney, in January to discuss plans to
improve standards in the area.
The move comes after concerns about
governance issues at suicide prevention helpline Teenline Ireland were
raised with the Health Service Executive and the Minister.
At
least 520 people took their lives by suicide last year and according to
figures from the Central Statistics Office, there were 104 suicides in
the first three months of 2010.
There are up to 500 groups with roles in suicide prevention, the Minister said, with some overlapping and some gaps in services.
Many
of the groups sprung up after a death by suicide within a family or
community and include Teenline Ireland, Sosad and Turning the Tide of
Suicide, as well as larger groups such as Pieta House, Samaritans and
Aware.
Mr Moloney said he was worried some “supervisory
involvement” was required for the various groups. “There should be
protocols and standards that the groups should aspire to.”
He said
the Irish Association of Suicidology, set up in 1996 in response to
concerns about the rising suicide rates in Ireland, had agreed to act as
a regulator for the area.
“It is very obvious there are many gaps
in the services, and people mean well and want to do well, but I wonder
if we had all the groups on the same pathway with achievable aims,
would we do better?”
Some € 5.5 million was allocated to the area
of suicide prevention through the National Office for Suicide Prevention
this year, the Minister said, and it was important the funds were put
to maximum use.
“There should not be any overlapping of services,”
he said. “But it is not a matter for me and the department insisting on
a particular approach to be taken; I want to listen to groups and
explore how they can see better results.”
Mr Moloney said he would invite all of the groups to a discussion meeting in Dublin in January.
“This
is not an attempt to take people away from the good work they are
doing, but it is a way to see how we can best operate,” he said.
“We want to do something in a cohesive and targeted way.”
SIC: IT/IE