LA VALLETTA (ITALPRESS/MNA) – A total of 12 individuals died by suicide in the first five months of 2023. The information was tabled in Parliament by deputy prime minister and health minister Chris Fearne. The number is slightly higher than the average of two suicide deaths per month, which was retained for the past 11 years, according to statistics by the Commissioner for the Rights of Persons with Mental Disorders. The Office of the Commissioner had issued a statement last September on World Suicide Prevention Day saying that each suicide death is potentially preventable. The Office of the Commissioner had spoken about the importance of raising awareness at all levels, in order to be in a position to recognise and offer help to individuals in such situations, thereby potentially reducing instances of suicide. The figures published last year, statistics found that 83% of these deaths were males, while 22% were foreigners. The victims were aged from below 16 years up to over 95 years of age, with the 40 to 50-year bracket being the most prevalent. The statistics published last year show that over the past seven years, each person who committed suicide below the age of 65, lost an average of 20 years of productive life. Leading psychiatrists and psychologists expressed their concern that the psychiatric sector in Malta is one of the last to be given importance by the Maltese authorities.
(ITALPRESS).
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