Meeting of the Parliament 12 September 2018
Thank you, Presiding Officer, for this opportunity to speak on the significant matter of suicide prevention, which affects many people throughout Scotland.
I wish the minister well in her new role, particularly with her experience of psychiatric nursing, which will be invaluable in the role.
I thank the Scottish Government for publishing its suicide prevention plan, albeit a little later than expected. This week, we marked suicide prevention day worldwide on Monday. The day highlighted the fact that suicide is a problem in nations throughout the world. Never has it been more crucial to raise awareness of an issue that pervades all levels of society.
We cannot become complacent about suicide prevention. Unfortunately, Scotland still has the highest rate of suicide in the UK. Worryingly, 61 per cent of people in Scotland have been affected by suicide. That statistic shows the urgency of preventing people from taking their own lives, as such an event inevitably affects the wider family network.
As part of the suicide prevention plan, there must be a focus on veterans, early service leavers and serving members of the armed forces to understand how suicide affects those members of our communities. I was pleased to hear the minister’s assurance on that. I trust that the armed forces and veterans sector will be represented strongly on the leadership group as well. Veterans can leave the armed forces with a lasting impact on their physical and mental health. For some, experiences in the armed forces can become too difficult to reconcile with the civilian lives to which they return. The transition back to civilian life can be too daunting and isolating for them without the mental health support and guidance that they need.
It is worrying that no official figures are publicly available on the number of veteran suicides that occur each year. That makes it harder to understand the true scale of the problem and how best to combat it. One investigation, which was conducted by Johnston Press, reportedly found that 16 suicides had been committed by veterans in the UK since January this year. Seven of those individuals were known to have fought in Afghanistan and Iraq. To have in place a robust and effective suicide prevention plan that involves support for our veterans, we must have official access to such statistics.