16 June 2008
The Lessons for Mental Healthcare Report covers an important and pressing subject (Scots drink and drugs death twice UK average, 16th June 2008). However, the report is at risk of confusing the Scottish public by bringing together the very different issues of homicide and suicide by people with a mental health problem. The former are thankfully rare, but the latter are sadly common and usually occur in the community. Often individuals may not have been in recent contact with services.
Although not the intent of this report, we need to be careful that this work does not add to the stigma attached to suicide by our focusing on moral judgements about lifestyles. More generally, we also need to be careful how we interpret statements about alcohol and drugs and about our understanding of why Scotland has higher rates of suicide than England. In many cases alcohol abuse, depression and suicide have common causes such as isolation, unemployment and social deprivation. We need to look more widely at links between suicide and social inequalities including inequalities in health.
Scotland has led the way in developing policies and practical steps to improve the nation’s mental health. Now it needs to take this discussion to the next level so that we can have both a more sophisticated and more relevant, and separate, analysis of what causes these tragic homicides and suicides.
Isabella Goldie
Head of Mental Health Programmes Scotland
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