Eliminating suicide goal urged

Tyrin Tutaki urged the audience to say the word ‘‘suicide’’ at a prevention event on Saturday. Photo: Peter McIntosh.

A senior mental health doctor has criticised New Zealand’s lack of a suicide elimination goal in a talk at a suicide prevention event in Dunedin.

Brad Strong, medical director of mental health at Southern District Health Board, acknowledged his would be the "most political bit" of a ceremony to mark World Suicide Prevention Day on Saturday.

About 250 people attended the event in the Glenroy Auditorium which included songs, a drumming performance, and speakers.

A candle had been lit for each of the 567 people who died from suicide in 2015-16.

Dr Strong said suicide elimination should be pursued with the ‘‘same tenacity’’ as official Ministry of Health targets.

"Zero suicide is not on that list ... it needs to be on that list."

Dr Strong said he had been trained to view suicide as inevitable in some cases, but there was growing acceptance that that had been wrong.

Suicide was preventable.

Dr Strong said there was wide acceptance of the kind of support needed to help people through tough times, but it "seems so difficult" to provide it.

To change the situation, the key was to "reprioritise mental health", and "commit ourselves to the notion that one suicide is too many".

The only way to effect change was through community pressure, he suggested.

"We need to raise our voices."

There needed to be greater investigation of what initiatives were working overseas, he said.

Bereaved father Sid Taylor, whose son Ross died in 2013, said mental health professionals needed to detect the "critical clinical moment", and should not "deflect" patients to a later date.

Mental health services needed to "catch up" with modern electronic information tools to enable fast and accurate decision-making.

As a veterinarian, Mr Taylor relied on pet owners to tell him what had happened their animal.

At times, it meant interpreting confusing information.

Mental health services needed to find better ways to "de-code" what families and patients were telling them, he said.

University of Otago Maori studies student Tyrin Tutaki (19), of Outram, asked each section of the audience to say "suicide" in turns during his talk.

Silence around the issue was not working.

"Everyone is afraid of saying that word. Don’t be afraid — say it."

eileen.goodwin@odt.co.nz