Many lives will be lost unnecessarily to suicide and many others will self-harm due to the Government’s slow reaction to addressing the problem of alcohol abuse in Ireland, a leading suicide expert has warned.
UCC lecturer and the director of research at the National Suicide Research Foundation, Professor Ella Arensman yesterday expressed disappointment at the Government’s proposed target of 2020 for the ban on sponsorship of sports by alcohol firms.
“That is far too late. We will lose so many more lives and face so many more people in emergency departments,” said Prof Arensman.
Speaking at an Alcohol Action Ireland conference entitled Facing the Fear: Alcohol and Mental Health in Ireland, Prof Arensman said immediate actions were needed to address the undisputed link between alcohol and increased incidence of self-harm and suicide.
A sponsorship ban can’t hurt sports more than alcohol can, Prof Arensman said, adding the “commercially enforced links” between alcohol and sport needed to be broken.
Research by the NSRF showed that an average of 33 patients present with evidence of self-harm each day in Irish hospitals.
Prof Arensman called for the urgent intensification of national strategies to reduce access to alcohol and to increase awareness of the risks involved in the use and misuse of alcohol.
She also recommended more active consultation and collaboration between mental health and addictions services in organising treatment for patients who presented with the dual diagnoses of psychiatric disorders and alcohol or drug abuse.
Prof Arensman said it was disappointing that only 10% of nurses in hospital emergency departments had received training in the assessment and management of self-harm.
Source: Seán McCárthaigh, Irish Examiner, 21/11/13
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