Gauteng Health Dept concerned about high number of suicide attempts on New Year’s Eve

Gauteng MEC for Health and Wellness Nomantu Nkomo-Ralehoko has raised concerns over the increasing rate of suicide attempts across the province.

By 10 pm on Sunday, Gauteng Emergency Services had responded to over 1,500 incidents – most of which were suicide attempts.

The number of suicide attempts on New Year’s Eve alone was higher than what the health department usually records, while stabbing and shooting incidents were also high on the list.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said the province’s suicide rate, especially during the festive season, is a reflection of challenges the society continues to face.

“We are concerned about the level of cases that we are receiving because we think that there is some education that we must do, which is civic education, in our communities, especially in communities where we have social workers,” she said.

She said most suicide attempts were recorded in the city of Ekurhuleni and parts of Bekkersdal.

The department also attended to several trauma incidents on Sunday night which the MEC labelled as a cause for concern.

Meanwhile, the Health Department has set up makeshift clinics in Hillbrow to attend to stabbing and shooting incidents.

The clinical setup was unveiled on Sunday night during the department’s crossover operation in the inner city.

Medical facilities see an increase of patients who’ve been hurt during violent encounters around this time of the year.

Nkomo-Ralehoko said the clinics are meant to scale down treatments without over burdening hospitals.

“We always have that mini-hospital, I call it a mini-hospital. We always do it in December especially preparing for the crossover. You have seen even the guys from forensic pathology are working with us so that tomorrow [Monday] morning when you ask us about the numbers, we’ll even tell you those we took to mortuaries,” Nkomo-Ralehoko said.

-EWN

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