Suicide prevention has many facets. It includes informal support from friends, family, employers, teachers, and others who interact with people at risk of suicide. It also includes formal mental health care, and unfortunately, a lack of access to care can dramatically increase the risk of dying by suicide.

That’s why we applaud the hard work of organizations that work to fill gaps in care and address unmet needs. CBS News recently reported on one such organization in Colorado, the Hope Institute, which seeks “to provide care in between general therapy and hospitalization.”

“Looking at our statistics, Colorado also has one of the highest rates of death by suicide in the country,” said Dr. Benjamin Finlayson, Clinical Director at the Hope Institute. “Us being here is really taking a proactive look at treating and addressing why suicide is so much higher in the state of Colorado.”

Closing gaps in services is critical to prevent deaths by suicide

Unfortunately, lack of access to mental health services plays a significant role in suicide deaths across the United States.

One recent study found that up to 80% of children and adolescents who die by suicide had at least some involvement with the healthcare system in the year prior to their deaths, but less than a third were actually able to access mental health services. Most ended up going to the emergency room, where overworked and undertrained staff weren’t able to meet their mental health needs. The study authors recommended training emergency department staff and prehospital clinicians in childhood mental health disorders and suicide prevention, as well as increasing the availability of mental health clinicians in schools and community settings, according to SafeSide Prevention.

A research review by RAND found that studies have consistently shown a correlation between greater access to mental health services and lower suicide rates, and at least two studies have shown causal effects between increased access to mental health services and reduced rates of death by suicide. The implications are clear: we need more access to competent mental health services, particularly in areas where suicide rates are above the national average.

Suicide prevention needs to be fully integrated into the healthcare system

While increasing access to mental health services is critical, it’s also important to strengthen suicide prevention resources across the continuum of care. That means training health care providers and others who interact with at-risk individuals to spot the warning signs of suicidality and make appropriate referrals to more specialized resources. The emergency department is a prime example: ED physicians and nurses must refer patients at any suicide risk to a competent mental health specialist. It is also vital to check prior ED visit records to see why the patient came to the ED. It may be because the patient was at risk for suicide on an earlier visit. If so, appropriate screening for suicidal thinking MUST occur.

Our law firm fights for accountability for families

Suicide is preventable, and a death by suicide is often the result of negligence on the part of medical professionals who treated the suicidal person. Our law firm works hard to hold those medical professionals accountable.

If you have lost a loved one to suicide completion, give us a call or contact us online for a free consultation. We’re based in Texas but represent families throughout the United States.