Barbados to Establish National Mental Health and Suicide Hotline: Ministry of Health Responds to Concerns

National suicide hotline coming

By Shamar Blunt

Barbados will soon have a national mental health and suicide hotline.

Chief Medical Officer Dr The Most Honourable Kenneth George made the announcement on Monday as he indicated that just as residents have been concerned about the number of people taking their lives in recent months, the Ministry of Health has been concerned for some time about the number of self-harm incidents.

“The Ministry of Health and Wellness is concerned about the reports of self-harm and suicide, particularly in teenagers and young adults, and males are the most vulnerable populations in Barbados. Although the suicide rate in Barbados is well below the estimated global averages, it is critical that we address this phenomenon head-on as we try to place the appropriate health systems in place for comprehensive mental health reform,” he said at a Media Sensitisation Workshop for Suicide Prevention, funded by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which was held at Accra Beach Hotel.

“We are in the process of establishing a mental health and suicide hotline that, based on international evidence and guidelines, will add to our national response and allow for immediate intervention for assistance and follow-up. This remains our number one priority, and the Ministry of Health and Wellness will include partnerships with community-based organisations, non-governmental health organisations, and other professional agencies.”

The CMO noted that with the unprecedented financial hardships caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise in new forms of drugs and other addictive substances being used by young people, the Mental Health Commission has outlined several areas of focus, which the Government intends to invest in to better tackle the problem.

They include the development of a mental health policy for Barbados; review and upgrade of the regulatory and legislative frameworks guiding mental health; expansion of community-based mental health services; expansion of services targeting vulnerable populations; and increasing public education and support and engagement of allied agencies in the overall work of the Ministry of Health and Wellness.

Meanwhile, Senior Consultant Psychiatrist at Psychiatric Hospital, Dr Brian Maclachlan stressed that despite global statistics suggesting that men are more susceptible to suicidal thoughts and self-harm, more women tended to be admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital under parasuicide and deliberate self-harm circumstances.

“During the year 2008, 146 persons presented, majority female – 100 were admitted, 11 young people out of that 146 presented with alcohol use disorder, and only eight persons had a previous self-harm attempt. The average age of these individuals was between 28 and 40.

Dr Taraleen Malcolm, PAHO/WHO Advisor on NCDs and Mental Health, stressed that though historically the region has generally reported low numbers of suicide, that trend seemed to be changing, particularly on the heels of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen in the region of the Americas, an increase in cases of suicide (17 per cent). For the Ministry of Health in Barbados, they want to be proactive, they want to make sure that they are taking the necessary action to increase that awareness and put the different strategies in place to ensure that we are at a point of maintaining that low rate of suicide,” she said.

[email protected]

Editor’s Note: If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts or mental health matters, please reach out to the Assessment Unit at the Psychiatric Hospital at 536-3091/536-3093, or National Youth Support Hotline at 539- 4357 (HELP).