Getting rid of the means to commit suicide reduces deaths, but it is best prevented by improving mental health treatment, a leading psychiatrist said in the wake of plans to erect a fence on the Mosta Bridge.
Two of the main factors that influence the rate of suicide in a locality are the rate of mental illness and the availability of a way to commit the act, such as a high point from which people can jump.
“Research shows that when a means of committing suicide is eliminated, it is not replaced totally by another means and the rate of suicide goes down,” Anton Grech told this newspaper.
“But the highest risk for suicide remains severe mental illness, especially depression.”
The scientifically proven best way to prevent suicide was by improving treatment, he said.
It was impossible to prevent all suicides from happening. “But as a society we need to do our utmost to prevent as much of this tragic ending as possible. Increasing awareness of mental illness and access to treatment are crucial.”
Dr Grech was contacted after this newspaper reported last week that an anti-suicide fence was to be erected on the Mosta Bridge if local council plans were approved.
The highest risk for suicide remains severe mental illness, especially depression
The bridge is notorious for the number of suicide attempts there. According to sources, the council has been planning such a structure for months.
However, according to police data, more suicides were committed in Valletta that any other place in Malta over the past five years.
Sixteen people committed suicide in Valletta between 2010 and 2015. During the same period, 10 people ended their lives in St Paul’s Bay, and another eight committed suicide in Birżebbuġa.
The figures show that a total of 165 suicides were committed in Malta during the period, 146 of them being males. The youngest victims were aged 14, while the eldest was 98.
Dr Grech emphasised that the number of suicides in Malta was small and there could not be a statistically significant analysis unless many years were taken into consideration.
The problem was that important psychosocial factors tended to shift over the years, making analysis difficult if not impossible.
“To give an example, in Malta we are noticing the phenomenon where villages near the sea that used to be mostly occupied by affluent families during the summer now have a stable population with a very high rate of social problems.
“Research, even local research, has repeatedly shown that the rate of mental illness is highest in socially deprived areas,” he said.