A series of recommendations aimed at reducing the number of suicides in the island is set to be debated in Tynwald next week.

The recommendations were included in a report from Tynwald’s social affairs policy review committee, investigating issues that surround suicide, contributory factors and prevention.

That report found that waiting times for people in mental health crisis were ’unacceptably long’.

The Council of Ministers has broadly accepted the bulk of the report’s recommendations although ministers appear set to table some amendments.

People referred to the mental health service by the Crisis Response and Home Treatment Team face an average waiting time for treatment of four weeks, the report found.

Waiting lists for other parts of the mental health service were branded ’unacceptable’.

One of the recommendations in the report is that Tynwald reaffirms previous commitments, made after a report into mental health provision - including extra support for carers and yearly reports on the progress on waiting times in all service areas.

This is expected to receive full backing from ministers.

The Council of Ministers also accepts another recommendation, that health and social care providers and other ’gatekeepers’ - whose roles put them in a position where they can identify ’suicidal ideation’ - should be encouraged to routinely inquire with vulnerable service users about the formation of such thoughts.

A call for guidance to be developed to deal with the online environment and clinicians to be encouraged to ’explore’ service users’ internet use, as part of prevention, also features in the recommendations.

The Council of Ministers looks set to attempt to amend this so that guidance from ’relevant bodies’ is used to assist in the completion of risk assessments.

guidelines

The government says the ability to produce robust guidance is beyond the island’s resources.

The Ministers’ response to the recommendations says, ’we would expect to await publication of guidance by those bodies with the necessary resources and professional expertise to produce them’, such as NICE and Public Health England.

It expects ’emerging best practice’ to lead users and professionals.

A recommendation for a ’suicide audit’ to identify areas of prevention will see CoMin attempt to amend it to note that the public health directorate routinely collates, analyses and reports on the issue and that should feed into a joint strategic needs assessment.

A call for Tynwald to state there is ’a need for additional support for those bereaved by suicide’, including extra training and a ’focal point for the co-ordination of the response to a suicide and a survivors’ group’ is supported by the Council of Ministers.

In the five years from 2013-17, there were 41 lives lost to suicide.

Suicide rates in the island, based on a three-year rolling average, were considered ’steady’ and comparable with England, according to the director of public health.

But the social affairs policy review committee commented in its report: ’While we accept this professional advice as far as the statistics are concerned, we would comment that, from our perspective as members of Tynwald, such advice is of little comfort when dealing face-to-face with a bereaved family.

’A single death by suicide is one too many.’

Committee chairman David Cretney MLC will move in Tynwald next week that the report is received and its recommendations approved.