Citation

Van Dooren V, Van der Meeren S, Vandervoort M, Alders A, De Fauw N, Vanhove R, Andriessen K. Psychiatr. Danub. 2006; 18(Suppl 1): 88.

Affiliation

Suicide Prevention Project, Mental Health Centre, Hanswijkstraat 48, 2800 Mechelen, Belgium. vicky_v_d@hotmail.com.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Facultas Universitatis Studiorum Zagrabiensis - Danube Symposion of Psychiatry)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16964010

Abstract

With a national suicide rate of approximately 20/100,000 suicide continues to be a major public health problem in Belgium. The Flemish Mental Health Centres (MHC) started a Suicide Prevention Project in 1997 when fifteen part-time suicide prevention officers were allocated to the MHC. The project focuses on the optimisation of the quality of help, provided by the MHC and other caregivers, and on the network of mental health and social care. Goals are: - to optimise the care offered to clients at risk, - to develop networks to enable follow-up of patients, - to lend support to and to share know-how with other caregivers, - to advocate suicide prevention in local networks, - to advance postvention, e.g., Working Group 'Verder' - to participate in regional and (inter-)national suicide prevention activities. Activities are developed by working parties on major groups of caregivers: GPs, hospitals, police force, youth workers, survivors, etc. Evaluations in 2000, and in 2005, suggested the necessity to implement MHC recommendations to deal with at-risk patients, to strengthen networks between various caregivers, to continue to develop training and coaching for caregivers, and to strengthen the coordination of all activities. Ongoing evaluations will ensure the quality of the program development.

Language: en