Meeting of the Parliament 12 September 2018
I thank the minister for her intervention.
We also welcome the additional £3 million, but Samaritans says that,
“Whilst the ambition and scope ... of the Plan ... is laudable, the resources to deliver across the whole Plan appear limited”.
Perhaps the minister will explain how the £3 million will be spent.
We all agree that “Every Life Matters” is a step in the right direction. The target for further reductions in suicides, the new emphasis on suicide prevention leadership, the focus on young people and the recognition of the need to train those who work in our social security system are welcome steps in the right direction. However, further detail is needed.
I spoke about the worsening of self-reported mental wellbeing, particularly among young girls. We have seen a worrying increase in self-harm among young people and particularly young girls. Self-harm is strongly associated with the lifetime risk of suicide, as Clare Haughey is aware. The growing up in Scotland study showed that almost a quarter of young women have self-harmed.
Self-harm features in the plan, as ministers assured me in previous debates that it would, but it does not feature as strongly as could be the case. For instance, it is not mentioned in any of the actions, although there is brief reference to it elsewhere, and there does not seem to be a specific strategy for working towards reducing the levels of self-harm, especially among young people. I would appreciate the minister’s comments on that.
The Health and Sport Committee was shocked to hear from Toni Giugliano that waiting times for psychological therapies can be up to 12 weeks when someone’s family member or friend has taken their own life and the person is vulnerable and at risk. I would like to understand what the minister intends to do to improve those figures markedly.
The Greens welcome the plan and the renewed focus on reducing the still too-high number of people in Scotland who, sadly, take their own lives. I look forward to the minister addressing in closing the points that I raised.
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