Suicide-related ambulance presentations in Australia increased by more than 50% in the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, new research suggests.
Analysis of ambulance data between March 2020 and March 2021 found a significant and sustained increase in attendances for suicide attempts, suicidal ideation and self-harm compared to before the pandemic.
The study, published as a preprint that has not yet been peer-reviewed, drew on data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System. Its findings contrast with previous data showing that the rate of death by suicide decreased in Australia in 2020 compared to the previous year.
The study’s co-author Associate Prof P Daniel Lin, a senior lecturer of psychiatry and mental health at the University of New South Wales, said the increase in suicide-related ambulance calls from March 2020 onwards was sustained even after lockdown restrictions were relaxed. “What we can conclude is that the need to call the ambulance [for such issues] definitely increased after the pandemic began,” he said.
Lin said the increase was most significant in Victoria, which also had the most severe first wave of Covid. “The suicidal and self-harm ambulance attendances seemed to be higher than other states.”
The researchers hypothesised that some people requiring clinical help might have “turn[ed] to ambulance services due to interruption in other clinical services”, while increases in psychological distress could also have contributed to the rise in presentations.
“This data bears out what a lot of clinicians have been talking about, seeing, and predicting,” said Prof Jayashri Kulkarni, director of the Monash Alfred Psychiatry research centre, who was not involved in the study.
Historically, people draw on internal resilience to get themselves through crises, Kulkarni said.
“Figures from the Great Depression and from war and all sorts of things showed that … suicide rates went down. But of course, the morbidity goes up in terms of mental health.”
The new study “suggests that people are seeking help for mental health issues rather than ‘giving up’ and completing suicide”, she said, adding: “It means that ambulance officers are attending to more mental health issues overall.”
Kulkarni noted an increase in mental ill health during the pandemic particularly among middle-aged women, who were hardest hit by stressors including job insecurity, responsibility for remote learning and care of the elderly, and lockdowns with a violent partner.
The findings highlighted that Covid-related sociological issues required attention, Kulkarni said. “Australia needs more mental health services for all age groups to help to meet the needs for those who do have mental ill health.”
• In Australia, the crisis support service Lifeline is 13 11 14. In the US, the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. In the UK, Samaritans can be contacted on 116 123. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org
