|
|
 |
 |
| Sunday, 19 October 2003 |
 |
|
 |
News |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Suicides : Sri Lanka down to seventh in global rank by Carol Aloysius The Presidential Task force Campaign to prevent suicides, after care services in the form of assessment and follow-up treatment such as counselling and greater awareness raising by the media has led to a sharp decline in the rate of suicides in Sri Lanka. "From being first in rank among countries having the highest number of suicides, we are now down to the seventh position" Dr. Samudra Kasturiarachchi, head of the Department of Psychiatry, University of Sri Jayawadenapura, told the media at a recent seminar held to mark Mental Health Day at the Health Education Bureau. While this welcome news may be a cause for celebration, a chilling revelation by the speaker underlines the fact that suicides still remain a visible and serious problem in this country. For, according to her, while the actual number of deaths from suicides has fallen, the number of attempted suicides has risen conversely. "Today, we see many more patients who enter our hospital for treatment following attempted suicides, than in previous years. "Young persons, mostly adolescents form the majority of persons who attempt suicide. But a more disturbing trend now is that younger persons including pre-adolescents are now attempting suicide, Dr Kasturiarachchi said citing a recent example of an 8- year-old who had swallowed several of his mother's sleeping tablets to ease his own mental problems. She added that compared with previous years when most patients who had entered hospital for attempted suicides, and had been sent home virtually untreated, today, there was a concerted effort on the part of health authorities in the hospitals to counsel these patients and offer follow-up treatment. |
|
News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security Produced by Lake House |
