Lifeline Canberra has called for the ACT Government to take urgent action, following what the organisation has described as a spike in the number of suicides in the Territory in recent years.
The organisation said it wanted the unique pressures faced by Canberrans to be investigated so that potentially affected communities – like public servants facing jobs cuts – could be better supported.
In 2013, 37 Canberrans died from suicide – up from 24 suicides in 2012 – according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ most recent statistics.
The same data set showed that in between 2011 and 2013, there were more deaths by suicide in Canberra than there were in transport accidents.
Although Canberra’s 2013 suicide figures were not the highest on record, Lifeline Canberra chief executive officer Carrie Leeson said the ACT was facing a critical situation.
“We believe that one suicide is one suicide too many and the fact that there have been 37 in 2013 for us is a grave concern,” she said.
Ms Leeson said from 2012 to 2013 there was a 54 per cent increase in suicides in Canberra.
If we increase from 2013 to 2014 in a similar fashion we would be sitting with one of the worst suicide rates in the country.
Carrie Leeson, Lifeline Canberra
And she said her fear was that this increase would continue.
“Knowing that if we increase from 2013 to 2014 in a similar fashion we would be sitting with one of the worst suicide rates in the country,” she said.
“Our worst case scenario is that it does increase at the same rate from 2012-2013 to 2013-2014.”
Canberra specific stresses must be examined: Lifeline
Lifeline has provided telephone crisis support to Canberrans and the surrounding region for more than 40 years.
Ms Leeson herself began her career with Lifeline as a volunteer telephone crisis supporter.
On the suicide prevention frontline
But she said tackling the ACT’s suicide rate had to be a community effort, and the ACT Government needed to lead the way.
“We are not here to create panic,” she said.
“We are calling out for Government to provide a fully informed view to take the necessary steps to measurably make a difference.”
Ms Leeson there were a unique set of pressures faced by Canberrans that could have an impact on mental health and suicide risk, that need to be examined.
“We do have a large public service population (and) there are significant changes taking place that may well lead to increased stresses,” Ms Leeson said.
“We have a large Defence community, we have a large number of job cuts taking place. And whilst we don’t have reports on them being specifically linked to suicides, we do believe that an increase in stress, an increase in mental health challenges can actually lead to suicide.
“The other thing we look at in the Canberra community, which is a unique stress and may well lead to mental health challenges, is the scenario around the Mr Fluffy homes and the fact that so many home owners are affected by this issue.”
‘Horror stories’ of public sector attitude to mental health issues
Private clinical psychologist Dr Cristian Torres agreed there were a unique set of circumstances in the ACT, which could in some cases compound mental health issues.
“The rate of suicide has been on the increase in the ACT and I observe that in my practice through the broad treatment of patients,” Dr Torres said.
Managers will say: ‘you have got some leave coming up so why don’t you take a few months off and come back to us when you are fixed or feeling better?'”…We need to keep them in the workplace as much as possible.
Psychologist Dr Cristian Torres
He said the ABS data was likely to be under-reported and clinical practice was not incorporated into the data collection.
“If we included data on the number of people who exhibit suicidal thoughts and therefore are at greater risk of actually ending their life, we would see that is has been on the rise as well,” he said.
He sees about 30 clients a week and each day, he will ask several clients if they are having thoughts of suicide.
Dr Torres said anecdotally, he had observed an increased rate of mental illness and suicidal thinking in his public servant clients.
“I have observed an increase in the general level of uncertainty and hence stress for clients, as a result of public service staff not being confident of their job security,” he said.
“This is very discernible in the ACT when there is a change in government, and hence policy, around PS jobs.
“In some cases this has led to an exacerbation of existing mental health problems such as PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), generalised anxiety disorder and major depression.”
He said in many cases, issues of mental illness were handled badly by public sector management, which could compound the problem.
“Be it from fear, lack of knowledge or ignorance it is being managed quite poorly,” he said.
“I hear some horror stories of how poorly people with mental illnesses are received and managed in the workplace, which invariably leads to deterioration in the illness and almost invariably to suicidal thoughts.”
Dr Torres said in some cases, time off work was offered as a well-meant solution, but it was not always best for the wellbeing of the employee.
“Managers will say: ‘you have got some leave coming up so why don’t you take a few months off and come back to us when you are fixed or feeling better?’,” he said.
“Now for someone who is struggling with a mental illness, and someone who is having thoughts of suicide, social isolation and withdrawal is one of those main identifiers.
“We need to keep them in the workplace as much as possible, where they are engaging with colleagues or doing things that give them a sense of fulfilment, satisfaction or motivation.”
He said other inappropriate responses included imposing well-intended management plans, that made the person feel devalued in the workplace.
‘Often times… you are identified as broken’
Dr Torres said he also saw a lot of Defence personnel with PTSD, as well as staff from the Australian Federal Police and emergency services.
“It is not always work-related trauma. But that trauma is not uncommon in returning servicemen,” he said.
“Often times unfortunately you are identified as broken, be it the AFP or the ADF, and so you are no longer any good… so see you later.”
Dr Torres said he believed Mr Fluffy home owners were also a key group at risk of suicide in the ACT.
“I currently have one client who is a Mr Fluffy homeowner,” Dr Torres said.
“It is a bit more complex than just a Mr Fluffy issue, absolutely.
“That is a significant contributor to this person developing a depressive illness and having thoughts of suicide from time to time.”
Examination of raw numbers risky: ACT chief psychiatrist
In response to the concerns raised by Lifeline Canberra, the ACT’s chief psychiatrist and director of clinical services Dr Peter Norrie acknowledged a recent peak in the suicide rate.
But he said the rate was relatively stable over the long term.
“With all respect to my colleagues (at Lifeline Canberra), no I don’t share their concern,” Dr Norrie said.
“I don’t, because I think there is a risk in just looking at that raw number.”
Dr Norrie said small jurisdictions like the ACT, NT and Tasmania could have very strong variations in suicide figures from year-to-year.
“The comparison would be to look at road traffic accidents,” he said.
“They actually have various blips as well, and so you get one year where the figures are significantly higher.”
He pointed to figures from ACT Health, which indicated that as with the rest of Australia, excluding the NT where there has been a slight increase, there has been a slight reduction in the rates of death by suicide in the ACT over the last 30 years.
The comparison would be to look at road traffic accidents… They actually have various blips as well.
ACT chief psychiatrist Dr Peter Norrie
“Nonetheless, any life that is lost to suicide is a tragedy and all families would say that,” Dr Norrie said.
“We don’t by inattention want numbers to climb.”
He said focusing on the difference in ABS suicide figures from year to year was not helpful.
“The individual variations could actually lead us down the making it into something that it is not and overdramatising just a figure,” he said.
Dr Norrie said he was unable to confirm the rate of suicide for 2014.
“We don’t know much yet, individual statistics are reported to the coroner (and) some of those matters are still under review,” he said.
‘One death by suicide is one death too many’
Sue Murray, chief executive of Suicide Prevention Australia, the nation’s peak organisation for suicide prevention, agreed it was not helpful for jurisdictions to get hung up in protracted debate about whether suicide is increasing or not.
She called for all stakeholders and authorities to look beyond interpretations of existing suicide data sets – and look towards better prevention strategies.
“One death by suicide is one death too many, so irrespective of one death, 30 deaths, 300 deaths, this is not acceptable,” Ms Murray said.
“We know that suicide can be prevented, so that is what we want all Australians to believe and to understand.
“Data is important in informing us, but it is not the answer to our problem. Our problem is how do we more effectively prevent suicide?”
This story is part of a series, exploring issues around suicide. On Monday the ABC will speak with the ACT’s Chief Coroner Lorraine Walker, about the role her office plays when someone dies by suicide.