News from: media

December 12, 2008

Headline News Highlights (5th-12th December 2008)

Mental Health

New Social Welfare leaflet for people with mental health problems
Dungarvan Observer (Wed, 10 Dec 2008)
Deputy Brendan Kenneally has welcomed the launch of a new information leaflet on Social Welfare entitlements for people with enduring mental health problems and has encouraged people throughout Waterford who have family members with these problems to get a copy.  The leaflet has been produced by Mental Health Ireland and draws together all the benefits and entitlements provided by the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

Read your way to better health
Clare Champion (Fri, 5 Dec 2008)
Reading can be good for your health.  That's the message from Clare County Library as they launch their latest book promotion, the Healthy Reading scheme The aim of the scheme is to make high quality self-help books more accessible to families and adults experiencing mild to moderate emotional problems.

Mental Health Service

196 children admitted to adult psychiatric wards in first ten months
Irish Medical Times (Thu, 11 2008)
More children were admitted to adult psychiatric units in the first ten months of this year than were admitted in the full 12 months of 2007, according to the latest data from the Mental Health Commission (MHC). The data revealed that a total of 196 children (under 18) were admitted to approved adult centres from January to October ‘08. This is three more admissions than the total figure of 193 recorded for January to December ‘07.

Suicide Prevention

Two people take own lives each day
Irish Examiner (Fri, 12 Dec 2008)
Two people take their own lives every day, according to a leading suicide prevention group, which claims official figures are not a true reflection of the growing crisis. Pieta House, the community-based suicide and self- harm prevention centre, has warned the continuing refusal to properly fund suicide prevention is failing to prevent needless deaths.

Extra beds needed for those at risk of suicide, says expert
Irish Times (Thu, 11 Dec 2008)
Hospitals will need extra emergency beds for people who have attempted suicide because of the recession, a leading psychiatrist has said. Patricia Casey, professor of psychiatry at the Mater hospital in Dublin, said in the current financial climate, crisis intervention beds were needed to cope with a probable upturn in attempted suicide and self-harm.

Suicide law change ruled out as TV shows death
Irish Independent (Thu, 11 Dec 2008)
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown revealed last night that he opposes change- ing the law on assisted suicide, as a furore erupted over a TV channel broadcasting footage of a British resident dying at a Swiss euthanasia clinic.  Mr Brown told MPs he personally would not want to see British law reformed to make it legal for terminally-ill people like Craig Ewert to receive help in ending their own lives in their own country.

Suicide among Travellers up to five times higher
Irish Examiner (Wed, 10 Dec 2008)
Suicide among Travellers is up to five times higher than the rest of the population, research has shown. The study, Suicide Among the Irish Traveller Community 2000-2006, found that the suicide rate among Travellers was more than three times that of the total population, peaking in 2005 when it was more than five times that of the settled population.

Travellers three times as likely to die by suicide as settled population - study
Irish Times (Wed, 10 Dec 2008)
Travellers are three times as likely to die by suicide as members of the general population, the first study of its kind has found. The seven-year study, Suicide Among the Irish Traveller Community 2000-2006, was part-funded by the Department of Justice and published in Co Wicklow yesterday. Conducted between 2000 and 2006, it found that the rate of suicide among the Traveller community rose to five times the national average in 2005.

Number of road deaths due to suicide less than expected, study finds
Irish Examiner (Mon, 8 Dec 2008)
Only a tiny fraction of road deaths are the result of suicide, according to new preliminary research. A study of 162 road deaths in counties Dublin and Kildare over the past four years has indicated that just three cases were deaths by suicide. In two of those cases the respective coroners had already ruled that the deaths were suicides.

Depression

Single farmers at risk of depression, helpline finds
Irish Examiner (Tue, 9 Dec 2008)
Bachelor farmers living in rural parts of the country are at increased risk of depression and suicidal thoughts, a HSE helpline has confirmed. Figures from the HSE Souths farm and. rural stress helpline for people living in the, Cork and Kerry region have revealed that out of 325 calls made over a single 12-month period, 55% were from men, with 62% of all callers single, or living alone.

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