Chatham-Kent’s top doctor is highlighting the stigma surrounding suicide in an effort to strengthen prevention in the community.
Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Chatham-Kent’s Medical Officer of Health, said suicide deaths are a significant public health issue in the community, with around 150 people in Chatham-Kent taking their own lives over the past decade. Over the same period, another 200 people were admitted to local hospital Emergency Departments for suicide-related issues.
Each year in Ontario, approximately 1,500 people die by suicide, compared to the 600 deaths caused by motor vehicle collisions.
Speaking at a Chatham-Kent Board of Health meeting on Monday, Dr. Nesathurai noted that suicide is preventable and highlighted the importance of open conversations, timely support, and reducing barriers to care.
“If you meet up with someone who is in an acute crisis, take basic steps such as staying with them until emergency help arrives or accompanying them to the emergency department,” he said. “One of the most important messages you can impart to someone contemplating taking their own life is that they matter, they are loved, and they are wanted. The world would be a lesser place without them.”
According to Dr. Nesathurai, many suicide attempts are impulsive and limiting access to means of self-harm, such as firearms, unauthorized medications, and high-risk locations, can save lives by creating time and space for intervention and support.
“Three hundred and seventy people in Ontario died in the last decade from jumping off a bridge or an overpass. Placing fencing, nets and barriers are likely to reduce these deaths. Placing signage at high-risk [locations] to say help is only a phone call away; that may have some effect.”
CK Public Health is reminding residents that support is available for anyone experiencing a mental health crisis. For information about available mental health crisis supports, visit the health unit website by clicking here.