Many more men self-harm and consider suicide than previously thought, a new study has suggested. Its authors advocate an urgent re-think in the way men's mental health issues are approached.
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With Ballarat suffering from a higher rate of suicide and mental health problems than the state average, the findings are of particular relevance to the city.
Led by Monash University researchers and the addiction education charity Turning Point, the Beyond The Emergency report found there were 30,197 ambulance call-outs for men self-harming in a year. One of the report's most striking statistics indicated the rate of self harm among men could be up to three times higher than the rate shown by available hospital statistics.
What the report shows is that you have to start thinking differently about the types of services and support for men who are in suicidal crisis
- Georgie Harman, Beyond Blue
Using data from ambulance attendances from July 2015 to June 2016, the study said these included 17,227 call-outs for "suicidal ideation" - in other words, men thinking about taking their own lives.
According to Australian Catholic University research done in 2017, the male suicide rate in Ballarat was almost twice the rate of Melbourne and 65 per cent more than the state average. At the time of the study, it accounted for almost 25 deaths per 100,000 men.
For Georgie Harman, the CEO of non-profit organisation Beyond Blue which helped to fund the report, the findings suggest urgent change is required.
"What the report shows is that you have to start thinking differently about the types of services and support for men who are in suicidal crisis. There are 82 ambulances called every day to men who have attempted suicide or thinking about killing themselves.
"Going into a hectic, loud, bright hospital emergency emergency - they are not therapeutic environments. What people say to us is that doesn't help suicidal crisis.
"We need to think differently about the models of care we put around men who find themselves in this situation. For those people who have attempted suicide who are not facing a life-threatening injury, for those people who are thinking about it but haven't acted on it, we must find different routes of support."
You need a range of different options, places where men can go and feel connected - look at men's sheds, for example, which have had an enormous impact on men's lives.
She said a alternative environment with input from those who have suffered from mental health issues, as well as families and carers would be a step forward.
"You need a range of different options, places where men can go and feel connected - look at men's sheds, for example, which have had an enormous impact on men's lives."
Ms Harman said one of the key findings from the research showed 42 per cent of ambulance attendances involved men who had previously been the subject of an emergency call-out.
"The one option we have got, which is straight to the emergency department, is not working."
Earlier this year, there were calls from a group of Ballarat health professionals and advocates for child sexual abuse survivors for funding to help set up a men's health clinic, which the city currently does not have.
One local health professional who sits on a committee involved in working out how the clinic would function said progress had been made but was slow due to the complexity and amount of funding required.
The Courier understands one focus would be on mental health, particularly among older men.
The Beyond The Emergency study, which was led by Turning Point and part-funded by the Movember Foundation, did not provide specific information on ambulance call-outs for the Ballarat region.
However, it suggested that paramedics often feel ill equipped to deal with mental health emergencies. Those behind the project said they wanted to outline "the magnitude and complexity of presentations for mental health among males in a systematic, timely and comprehensive way."
Researchers hope the research will allow the ambulance service to expand its capacity to respond to mental health emergencies.
They also would like the analysis of coded ambulance clinical records to improve the ability to keep track of mental health in different communities, and allow the system to be changed to offer more appropriate treatment.
Suicide is the biggest cause of death for men under the age of 44 in the country, with the number dying exceeding the national road toll.
According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics there were 2,269 suicide deaths in 2016, of which 1,720 (76 per cent) were male.
That makes a total of 17 male suicides per 100,000 inhabitants, significantly less than the most recent statistics for Ballarat.
- Affected by this story? Call Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. Other options include Ballarat CASA on 5320 3933, or free-call the crisis care line 24 hours on 1800 806 292. Alternatively Phone Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Relationships Australia on 1300 364 277.
