13th August 2024
Commenting on the suicide statistics published this morning, Billy Watson, Chief Executive of SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health), said:
“It’s really important that we remember that behind every one of these deaths is a person, their loved ones, their colleagues, and their community. Research suggests that as many as 135 people are affected by each death by suicide, and as a society we have to make sure we’re supporting them in these most difficult of times.
“We need to be cautious about over-interpreting one year of data, but this rise in deaths comes after a smaller rise last year. There is an established link between economic downturns and suicidal behaviour and, while we can’t say the rise is a result of this, these figures do overlap with a significant increase in the cost of living.
“It is essential that we increase investment in suicide prevention across Scotland. The Scottish Government has committed to increasing the suicide prevention budget to £2.8 million by the end of this parliament. That will be nowhere near sufficient and resourcing of the Government and COSLA ten-year national suicide prevention strategy plan – launched only in 2022 – needs early review. Investment must be increased when risks – including the cost of living and ongoing performance issues with the mental health system – are higher.
“At SAMH, we help to build personal and community capacity to discuss, prevent and cope with suicide. We have potentially life-saving conversations with people experiencing suicidal thoughts every day. But bringing these numbers down – giving more people the tools to help, and persuading more people their lives matter – will take all of us. The time to spend on suicide prevention is now.”
You can find the latest probable suicides published by the National Records of Scotland here.
If you have serious concerns for your own or someone else's safety, it's important to call 999.
If you are distressed, struggling to cope or thoughts of suicide, you can contact NHS 24 by phoning 111, or Samaritans by phoning 116 123 or emailing jo@samaritans.org.
In non-urgent situations, you can contact the SAMH information service (9am-6pm, Mon-Fri) to chat about mental health or get more information about mental health support in your area on 0344 800 0550 or info@samh.org.uk. You can text Shout on 85258 any time. Or call Breathing Space on 0800 83 85 87 Monday-Thursday 6pm to 2am or between Friday 6pm-Monday 6am.
