A LEADING psychiatrist has called for a State-wide examination of coroners’ reports, to help ascertain the true level of suicides which, he maintains, is still substantially under-reported.
Prof Kevin Malone also urged “extreme caution” on new reports which show a decrease in the number of people taking their own lives in the State.
Latest official figures, albeit provisional, show the number of deaths by suicide fell to 424 last year, down from 460 the previous year. It was part of a downward trend over the past five years.
Suicide prevention charity the 3Ts (Turning the Tide of Suicide), of which Prof Malone was a co-founder, said the figures were in stark contrast to the charity’s experience which indicated a dramatic increase in the number of undetermined deaths in recent years “and feedback from suicide organisations working on the ground who all report an increased demand for their services”.
Prof Malone, who is professor of psychiatry and mental health research at UCD and St Vincent’s University Hospital Dublin, with colleagues, conducted research on data in the Dublin City Coroner’s Court. He said in one particular period, one in four of the open verdicts recorded by the coroner had involved someone leaving a suicide note.
Prof Malone said it was not the coroner’s fault – he had to deliver a verdict beyond reasonable doubt rather than on the balance of probabilities.
He explained that in some cases other factors, such as alcohol, could be involved, and the coroner had to deliver a legal verdict.
Prof Malone, who examined more than 100 cases in the coroner’s court, said data complied by coroners and not just the verdicts should be examined nationally. This, he said, would help give a truer picture of the situation regarding suicide figures.
Prof Malone also said services for adolescents with serious mental problems were “deplorable”, with only eight public beds available for those under 18 years of age.