Mental health charity working on suicide prevention in the North East
Written by William Jackson Pollock on 9th May 2023
The Office for National Statistics reports that the North East has the highest suicide rate per 100,000 deaths in the UK by a large margin, with its rate at 14.1 people per 100,000 dying from suicide, whereas the English average stands at 10.5.
We spoke to Lyn Boyd, CEO of local mental health charity Mental Health North East to get her thoughts on why the North East has such a high rate of suicide cases in comparison to other areas throughout the UK.
In addition to the information in the video above, Lyn told us that sadly it’s not just suicide cases that the Northeast has more of, but that general mental health issues are also on the rise in the region, with the number of inpatient cases surging rapidly.
She also spoke on the quality of inpatient care and stated that “many people are going in to get better and not coming out at all”, with a particularly harrowing case of a young woman being put into inpatient care due to drug problems, purchasing drugs while there and having a fatal overdose.
We were also told that Lyn “doesn’t anticipate government intervention” in regard to the North Easts mental health crisis, this viewpoint is especially understandable when considering that Mental Health North East used to receive government funding, and is now entirely reliant on donations and volunteering.
However its important to remember that hope is not lost, with a conference being held in June called Better Times Ahead to look at a total rethink of how mental health services are operated in the area, with involvement from Mental Health North East as well as If You Care Share, a local charity for families of suicide victims.
Information for how to donate to Mental Health North East can be found below.
