Speaking at the Coroners Court in Lidcombe, Mental Health Minister Bronnie Taylor said the first report of a new ‘suicide monitoring system’, showed 673 suspected or confirmed suicide deaths in the first nine months of 2020, compared with 672 for the same period in 2019.
“While every death by suicide is a tragedy, we need to underline that there has not been an overall spike in numbers in a year that has delivered so many challenges,” she said.
The new monitoring system aims to help authorities make decisions in real-time about emerging suicide trends in communities instead of reacting to year-old data, with the next stage to include information about the social, economic and other pressures a person may have experienced, as well as any previous contact with health services.
State Coroner Teresa O’Sullivan said the system would be key to a more timely and sophisticated understanding of trends and why a suicide occurred and what could be done to prevent this tragedy from happening to others.
Attorney General Mark Speakman says that reforming the collection and management of suicide data is the result of significant collaboration between NSW Health, the Department of Communities and Justice, Magistrate O’Sullivan and NSW Police.
“The suicide monitoring system will provide meaningful insights for frontline services, while ensuring that best practice protocols are in place to maintain the security and accuracy of this very sensitive information,” Mr Speakman said.
