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Hospital officials are alarmed by the massive influx of patients. They call for better monitoring of the number of suicide attempts.
A national registry of suicide attempts is called for.
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The child and adolescent clinic of the University Psychiatric Services of Bern draws an alarming conclusion: in 2021, the number of treatments increased by 50% compared to 2020. In addition, the lull that occurs each year during the months summer did not take place: “Last summer we were almost full even in July and August. And now we are overloaded once more,” says chief medical officer Michael Kaess at the “Sunday newspaper».
The table is incomplete
“All young people who have been in a situation where their life has been in danger have been welcomed. We are always there for them”, he reassures, even if he indicates that it is almost impossible to direct all patients to appropriate follow-up therapies following a visit to the emergency room.
What worries the specialists is also that the overall picture of the situation is difficult to establish. The psychiatric clinic for children and adolescents in Zurich recorded 278 suicide attempts in 2021. Its chief medical officer, Gregor Berger, estimates that this figure represents only 10% of the effective number.
The problem must be better quantified, according to the two doctors quoted in the article of the “Sunday newspaper». They are calling for the creation of a national registry of attempted suicides. “Systematic identification of cases is the only way to understand why more and more young people suffer from psychic crises and, in the worst cases, see death as the only solution”, says Gregor Berger. Note that, statistically, “over the past thirty years, the suicide rate of 11-25 year olds has halved,” reads the 2020 Report of the Swiss Health Observatory.
Boys are overrepresented in the figures for suicide attempts, girls are overrepresented in those for psychiatric treatment. “Girls are more likely to ask for help, while boys often try to get by on their own, until the vase overflows,” says Michael Kaess.
As the newspaper recalls, suicide is the second cause of death among young people aged 10 to 19, following accidents. In 2021, the number of consultations had already increased by 50% compared to 2019. The pandemic has caused these figures to explode, but Gregor Berger recalls that the upward trend has been observed for ten years. “We are in an emergency,” he said.
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