Stress levels spark health trial
IN Bass Coast, one in six adults experience significant psychosocial distress, resulting in the shire being selected to participate in a suicide prevention trial.
The shire was one of 29 Australian communities selected due to the community’s commitment to working collectively to reduce suicide rates.
Community organisation Survivors of Suicide has been influential in this area.
According to Gippsland Primary Health Network, Bass Coast had more people presenting to the emergency department for intentional self injury than the Victorian state average in the last five years. Men are at higher risk of death from these injuries.
South Gippsland is the only local government area in Gippsland where the statistics are closer to the state average.
Life circumstances such as family breakdown, unemployment, issues with alcohol and substance abuse, and experiencing bereavement are attributed to the causes of vulnerability in Bass Coast.
The health trial is a new approach based on a systems response. Health networks build a “safety net” for the community by coordinating existing support services and building the community’s skills to better support people facing a suicide crisis.
“We want to build people’s skills to recognise and respond to suicidality: to identify the warning signs of when someone is in crisis and to support them to seek help,” Gippsland Primary Health Network CEO Amanda Proposch said.
“It is a place based approach, which means people and places are inter-related, and we acknowledge the places where people live and spend their time affects their health and wellbeing.
“That means the program focuses on schools, business, workplaces, doctors, community campaigns, the media and emergency departments.”
The program in Bass Coast will be about working with the local community to develop its own suicide prevention responses.
It will be focused on community strengthening and improved individual resilience and wellbeing.
The focus is also on building mental health literacy; how people understand and talk about mental health, and improving help seeking.
Gippsland Primary Health Network is working with Bass Coast Shire Council, Bass Coast Health, Victoria Police, Ambulance Victoria, local schools, the Department of Education, Latrobe Regional Hospital and Lifeline Gippsland to implement the program.
Survivors of Suicide support counsellor Tanya Worden said the trial was a well needed collaboration.
Ms Worden said Survivors of Suicide is working on establishing a 24 hour centre in Bass Coast.
“At the moment, there are no venues available and the project would require significant funding, so it has been put on hold for now,” she said.
“We are aiming to provide a 24 hour service where people could drop in and we would be the first point of call. We would have round the clock volunteers because we find most people contact us after hours; certainly not during normal 9 to 5 hours.
“We help people discuss the purposes for their calls. We also hear a lot from parents who are concerned about their university students in Melbourne, so we support them as well.”
Ms Worden said Survivors of Suicide do refer people on to the hospital in high crisis situations.
For those wanting to donate to Survivors of Suicide, they can contact Ms Worden or Koula Dimopoulos.
Gippsland Primary Health Network encourages community members who want to get involved to help develop the local program to get in touch via [email protected].
If you, or someone you know, needs urgent support talk to someone you trust or contact a crisis support service: Lifeline 13 11 14 www.lifeline.org.au, beyondblue 1300 224 636 www.beyondblue.org.au, Suicide Call Back Service 1300 659 467 www.suicidecallbackservice.org.au, MensLine Australia 1300 789 978 www.mensline.org.au, QLife 1800 184 527 (3pm – 12am) www.qlife.org.au and emergency services 000.
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Posted by Tayla Kershaw on Dec 11 2018. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry
