Suicide and online harm approach 'outdated' and 'not working'

There have been calls for Northern Ireland to improve its "outdated" approach to suicide and adopt a "preventable deaths tracker" currently being used in England and Wales.

The tracker estimates that one in five deaths there are avoidable each year – that's over 125,000.

The calls come as a conference was held at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Thursday to understand how to tackle online harm and suicide in Northern Ireland.

It was organised by Complete Mind Solutions, a health organisation that offers mental wellbeing and suicide prevention training and support.

Sarah Jane Campbell, service manager at The Well Suicide Prevention who was one of the event's key speakers, believes Northern Ireland is outdated when it comes to its approach to dealing with suicide.

In 2023, Complete Mind Solutions reported there were 221 suicide deaths in Northern Ireland.

"We cannot keep doing the same stuff and expecting different results, it's not working," she said.

"Regardless of our stats, all of our suicide prevention services are exasperated, everyone is nearly at the point of crisis themselves.

"So, it's about informing policy, getting the right money to the right services at the right time."

Ms Campbell said she was keen to meet the justice and health ministers to see if a preventable deaths tracker could be put in place.

"It's quite remarkable that all these other countries in the world are using it and we are not," she said.

"We're still so outdated here and it's not acceptable. I feel like a lot of the times we're getting the scraps, we're the poor relatives."

A Department of Health spokesperson said that work on a new Protect Life 2 Action Plan and accompanying implementation plan had been completed and will be published shortly.

They added: "The new action plan will contain a wide range of actions aiming to reduce the rate of suicide in Northern Ireland."

Paul McArdle attempted suicide six years ago - he spoke about his experience of drug addiction and suicidal thoughts, and how he overcame them.

"I went through addiction for 21 years, my life was turmoil, it started off as fun and ended up bringing me to the depths of depression, the lowest parts of my life," he said.

"I didn't want to live any more, I didn't see any hope and I just wanted to finish it.

"But thankfully I was one of the lucky ones."

Mr McArdle said he believes suicide prevention has come a long way in the last two decades but things can still improve.

"It's getting people to come to those doors seeking help," he said.

"Men don't want to seek help because they think it's not the done thing to do because they're strong and mighty but when you're at your lowest and you really want to get out of it, these people are here to help you.

"They were amazing for me, and they can be amazing for anyone."

Deirdre Maguire works as a mind wellness specialist - her father took his own life when he was 72.

"He was happily married, he had people who loved him, he had financial success, he had lots of things going for him but on the inside, he had hurts and pains from the past," she said.

"So, in the end, a tortured soul, he went with the only option, and he took his own life.

"I made it my mission to save my dad so when he died, I had failed and that was the lowest point in my life."

Ms Maguire said her personal journey became a "professional passion".

"I had seen what this pain had done to me, so I wanted to make sure no one else ever had to suffer the way had," she said.

"I sought help myself and then I studied and learnt more about how the mind and body works and today I've helped thousands of people improve their own lives."

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this story, information and support can be found at the BBC's Action Line.