Suicide experts say we are headed for a black swan event

Experts say we are heading for a “black swan” event due to COVID-related job losses and business closures. It comes as nurses report a surge in Queenslanders turning up at hospital psych wards.

NURSES are reporting a surge in desperate Queenslanders turning up at hospital psyche wards as they buckle under financial stresses brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

President of the National Association of Practising Psychiatrists Dr Philip Morris said there has been an increase in Queenslanders seeking out mental health treatment due to job losses and business closures and some may be turning up to mental health wards at hospitals as they are fearful of having to pay through the GP or at private appointments.

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This comes as Suicide Prevention Australia chief warns that the nation is facing a rare “black swan” event which could pose serious consequences for suicide rates.

Suicide Prevention Australia Nieves Murray chief executive predicts that Australia is headed for a “clash of economic and social distress”, with the suicide prevention sector significantly concerned about suicide risks.

A black swan event is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.

“International research shows as economies go down, suicide rates go up, and Australia has just entered its worst recession in nearly a century,” Ms Murray said.

While Queensland interim figures from the Queensland Suicide register has not yet shown a massive increase in suicides through the pandemic, fallout often hits at least a year after the crisis.

“In previous pandemics there was little evidence of people taking their own lives until at least a year later. The economic impact grows as time passes and personal financial problems grow,” Dr Morris said.

Psychiatrist Dr Philip Morris. Picture: Luke Mortimer

A spokeswoman for the Nurses’ Professional Association of Queensland (NPAQ) union said that nurses had not seen an increase in admissions to mental health wards but “there had been a sharp increase in the overall percentage of people presenting to the wards as a result of financial stress, particularly as a result of working reduced hours for several months”.

A Queensland Health spokesman said, “In the first half of this year we saw a decrease in presentations to our emergency departments across the state as a result of the pandemic. This trend was also represented in the mental health space, with fewer mental health presentations in the months between February and July 2020 compared to January 2020”.

“Mental health admissions in June 2020 were comparable to July 2019.”

But the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners Queensland Chair Dr Bruce Gillett reports a doubling of patients seeking mental health appointments since the pandemic crisis.

“I agree that we could see a problem with suicides later. The financial impacts of COVID-19 have hit hard,” he said.

Data from the Continuity of Care Collaboration (CCC) which has announced a new campaign telling Australians “Don’t Wait Mate’ when it comes to their healthcare over the pandemic shows a rise in psychiatric consultations in June.

The number of psychiatry consultations in June 2020 is higher than the 2018-19 monthly average (153,458).