One in four Belgians left unguided after suicide attempt

More than a quarter of the people in Belgium who have attempted suicide had no contact with a general practitioner or psychiatrist in the three months following the incident, according to a study by the socialist health insurance fund. The data also reveal that people in a precarious health or social situation are significantly more likely to attempt suicide again, writes vtmnieuws.be.

In 2012 in Belgium there were 2,203 deaths from suicide, of which 1,108 in Flanders, 778 in Wallonia and 137 in the Brussels-Capital Region. The results of the country's latest health survey in 2013 show that 14% of the Belgian population have seriously considered ending their own life, while 4.2% have already tried. "The results are worrying," says Paul Callewaert, secretary general of the socialist health insurance fund. "Suicide and attempted suicide are a substantial, but also neglected, problem."

For the study, the socialist health insurance fund examined 4,063 of its members who had been hospitalised at least once after an attempted suicide between 2011 and 2013. According to the results, suicide risk in Belgium is highest among women, those living south of the linguistic border and those in a precarious health and/or social situation (receiving disability, invalidity, unemployment benefits, etc).

The socialist health insurance fund also found that the monitoring of people who have attempted suicide in the past is far from optimal. "About 15% of our members who survived a suicide attempt had no contact with a doctor or psychiatrist following the incident. As many as 27% had no guidance in the first 3 months following the attempt," said Callewaert.

For questions about suicide in English, the Community Help Service offers help on 02.648.40.14 and chs-belgium.org.