“The review of Northern Ireland’s suicide statistics today shows that the rates of suicide in NI from 2015 to 2020 are lower than the rates that were published previously. The review involved a closer examination of deaths which led to some deaths being removed from the suicide category and placed in an accidental death category.
The accurate figures tell us that NI does not have the highest rates of suicide in the UK; the rates here are lower than the rates in Scotland and higher than England, Wales and Republic of Ireland. However the regions use slightly different classification methods so suicide is not measured in the same way in all of these regions.
I am very conscious that these suicide stories refer to real people and real lives. The toll of suffering that they represent is huge. It is unacceptable and we must do all we can to prevent every single death.
The Protect Life 2 - Suicide Prevention Strategy contains actions that we know will over time reduce the numbers of people who die by suicide. This Strategy is being implemented but we need more funding (10-26%) so that we can implement this strategy in full. Likewise the Mental Health Strategy is really strong and includes actions that will prevent mental illness, which is associated with suicide. This Strategy needs an increase in funding of about 34% to the Department of Health budget.
For many of those who hear about this review, it will be a painful reminder about a loved one’s death and they may wonder what this means about the cause of death.
The review is about numbers in a data file, it does not change the cause of death on a death certificate because that cause of death will explain what led to the person’s death. The coding is a separate process for statistical purposes only.
It is absolutely vital that we have accurate statistics about causes of death so that we can continue to monitor trends, direct services and implement policies to prevent these deaths.”
The NISRA Review can be found here: https://www.nisra.gov.uk/publications/review-suicide-statistics-northern-ireland