News

Sharing the Learning - Working Together to Address Self Harm and Suicide

New research on the prevalence of self harm in Northern Irish teenagers is presented for the first time today.  The study conducted by Professor Rory O’Connor from the University of Stirling, and funded by the Department of Health Social Services and Public Safety, shows that 10% of teenagers in Northern Ireland have self harmed with girls being three times more likely to report self harm than boys.

Professor O’Connor, a native of Derry city, welcomed the opportunity to share the findings of this important study with colleagues involved in self harm and suicide prevention:

“Although prevalence of adolescent self harm appears to be lower in Northern Ireland than it is in the Republic of Ireland, Scotland and England, there is no room to be complacent.  This issue affects one in ten young people in Northern Ireland.  These findings suggest an important role for schools in adolescent well being, the management of stress and the promotion of self-esteem”.

Colm Donaghy, Chair of the Northern Ireland Regional Suicide Implementation Body, welcomed the research.  He said: “This type of research is very important and helps us to develop and plan services according to the needs of the population.   The recently published two year report of the Registry of Deliberate Self harm - which operates at Erne, Omagh and Altnagelvin Accident and Emergency Departments - shows that there are over 1,300 presentations due to deliberate self harm annually at these sites.  It is clearly a major concern for our society and the more we understand about this issue, the better informed our efforts will be to address the problem".

Commenting on the new research presented to the conference, Colm Donaghy said: “Professor O’Connor’s findings are timely and helpful.  This research will allow us to work together and plan how we deal with this issue in relation to children and young people”.

Many regional and local initiatives are being showcased including; the ‘Card Before You Leave Scheme’, the Taxi Drivers’ Initiative, Foyle Search and Rescue, the Family Liaison Service and the NI Deliberate Self Harm Registry.  This provides an excellent opportunity for participants involved in the area of self harm and suicide prevention to share best practice, offer support and learn from one another.  The overall aim of the day is to improve the design and delivery of services for people affected by self harming behaviour or suicide. 

Dorothy Hutchinson from the Health and Social Care Board said:
“By learning and working together to provide co-ordinated services from all sectors we can reduce the devastating impact that suicide and self harm have on our community.  It is widely recognised that suicide is a very complex problem for which no single agency or group has the resources to tackle alone.  The involvement of partners from all sections of our community is essential in ensuring that local knowledge is shared and local need identified.  By working together within this community we can prevent further deaths occurring and ultimately save lives”.

Participants learned about the many creative and community based interventions provided by the Lifeline Service.  All agencies and professionals involved continue to urge individuals who feel distressed or despairing to contact Lifeline counsellors who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week on 0808 808 8000. Trained counsellors will listen to you and give you the help and support you need, in confidence.  Alternatively, the Lifeline’s new website www.lifelinehelpline.info <http://www.lifelinehelpline.info/> provides a vital resource for people who may be in need of help and want to find out more about the services that Lifeline has to offer. 

-ENDS-

For further information contact:

Sally Kelly, Public Relations Officer, Health and Social Care Board (West) and the Public Health Agency on 028 7186 0086 or 075 9035 3458.  Email sally.kelly@hscni.net

Gail Sheen, Communications Manager, Western Trust on 028 7161 1188 or email gail.sheen@westerntrust.hscni.net

Sadie Bergin, Communications Manager, Co-operation & Working Together, on 028 7127 2100 or email sadie.bergin@cawt.com

Note to Editor

1. The Lifeline number is 0808 808 8000 and lines are open 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Calls are free from all landlines and mobile phones. The website address is: www.lifelinehelpline.info <http://www.lifelinehelpline.info/>.
2. In 2007, the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Northern Ireland commissioned Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) to establish a pilot project to implement the work of the National Suicide Research Foundation (NSRF) within the Western Health and Social Services Board area.  The Deliberate Self Harm Registry was jointly launched by Minister McGimpsey and his Republic of Ireland counterpart Mary Harney in October 2007 as part of All Island co-operation on suicide prevention.  The Health Minister welcomed  the publication of the two year report from the Self Harm Registry on 21 January 2010.  The report can be downloaded from: www.cawt.com  or www.dhsspsni.gov.uk.
3. Co-operation and Working Together (CAWT) is a cross border health and social care partnership comprising the border counties of the Health Service Executive in the Republic of Ireland and the Southern and Western Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland. The Health and Social Care Board and the Public Health Agency in Northern Ireland are also partners. CAWT is managing a range of cross border health and social care programmes, part financed by the European Union’s European Regional Development Fund through the INTERREG IVA cross-border Programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body.