Weekly News Roundup October 1 – 8, 2018
Every day we scan news headlines and social media for items of interest to the field of suicide prevention. Here’s what we found last week:
Chicago’s Sip of Hope – a cafe where it’s OK not to be OK – Al Jazeera
October 9, 2018
The first mental health cafe, run by Hope for Today, a nonprofit mental health organization, has opened in Chicago. All proceeds go to suicide prevention and mental health education, and the baristas are able to provide mental health information as well as information on crisis lines.
Uber Driver’s Death Marks Seventh For-Hire Driver Suicide Within a Year – New York Times
October 7, 2018
*Method warning* Over the past year, New York City has lost 7 for-hire drivers. Last weekend, a vigil was held for an Uber driver who died by suicide, and people attending the vigil expressed anger at the fact that for-hire drivers are often mistreated.
Those Left Behind: Working With Suicide-Bereaved Families – Psychiatry Advisor
October 4, 2018
One suicide death affects many people, and the grief of losing someone to suicide is different than any other kind. The stigma that still surrounds suicide means that sometimes family won’t acknowledge a death as suicide, making it difficult to grieve. As well, in addition to blaming themselves for the death, “The survivor may blame the person who made the choice to die or may blame someone else who didn’t do enough, didn’t provide enough care, didn’t return a phone call, missed important cues, had an argument or disappointed the person, or could have interrupted or prevented the death in some way. Or the survivor may blame the doctor for missing signals, not treating depression, or prescribing the wrong drug,” said Sidney Zisook, MD, professor of psychiatry at the University of California.
New 24/7 mental health clinic for Edmonton – Government of Alberta
October 4, 2018
Construction has begun at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta for a new addiction and mental health site, called Access 24/7, that will help individuals and families get mental health supports all day everyday. More than 100 addictions and mental health employees will work at the site, providing patients and their families with round-the-clock assessment, crisis counselling and stabilization, referrals and telephone support.
Related – New one-of-a-kind mental health clinic in Edmonton hopes to solve citywide access problem – The Star Edmonton
The Surgeon General announces the release of the Canadian Armed Forces Clinician Handbook on Suicide Prevention – Government of Canada
October 3, 2018
Last week, the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF), in partnership with the Canadian Psychiatric Association, have released a CAF Clinician Handbook on Suicide Prevention. This handbook provides CAF clinicians “with a formalized and standardized approach to identify, screen, and manage patients at risk for suicide.”
Suicides Get Taxi Drivers Talking: ‘I’m Going to Be One of Them’ – New York Times
Taxi and other for-hire drivers in New York City are speaking out about the issue of suicide in their profession, but stigma is still keeping many of them from seeking help to cope with the stress of their jobs. City officials are urging drivers to seek help, and is considering establishing centres for mental health counselling and financial advice for drivers.
#OurYYC On the Road: Mental Health Matters – Global News
October 2, 2018
Dr. David Swann spoke with Global TV’s Linda Olsen about which of the recommendations from the Valuing Mental Health – Report of Alberta’s Mental Health Review Committee have been implemented and which are still in the process of implementation. Swann said that it is important for caregivers, from doctors to social workers to teachers, to have training in how to deal with mental health, and that we need to be measuring our quality of care in an attempt to better quality of care. Swann also noted, “We need to do better in timely access to care, many people say they still have to wait too long to get care.” This interview is part of a series Global Calgary is airing about mental health called Mental Health Matters.
Newly discharged mental health patients at much higher risk of death – Guardian
October 2, 2018
New research from the UK has shown that people with mental health issues have an increased chance of dying from unnatural causes than the general population: They are 38 times more likely to die from fatal poisoning and 90 times more likely to die from a drug overdose. Patients who have psychological or psychiatric conditions and have just been released from hospital are 32 times more likely to kill themselves than people who have not been admitted to hospital. “The post-discharge period represents a particularly risky transition because people are returning to living in the community and often in the same or similar circumstances to the point at which they were so ill that they needed to be admitted to an inpatient unit,” said study team Professor Roger Webb, an academic in Manchester University’s centre for mental health and safety. “This may be an especially daunting experience for people when they experience discharge from an inpatient unit for the first time.”