Suicide-related ambulance calls rose by more than 50% during Covid, Australian study finds

During the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic, suicide-related ambulance presentations in Australia increased by more than 50%, according to new research

Suicide attempts, suicidal ideation, and self-harm were all up significantly from before the pandemic, according to an analysis of ambulance data collected between March 2020 and March 2021.

Using data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, the study was published as a preprint. The study's findings are at odds with those from the previous year, which showed a decrease in the suicide death rate in Australia in 2020.

Associate Professor P Daniel Lin, a psychiatry and mental health faculty member at the University of New South Wales, said that even after lockdown restrictions were eased, there was an increase in suicide-related ambulance calls from March 2020 onwards. The pandemic led to an increase in the number of people needing to be taken to the ER, he said.

According to Lin, the biggest jump was seen in Victoria, the state that was hit the hardest by the first wave of Covid. There seemed to be a higher number of ambulance visits for suicide and self-inflicted wounds than in other states.

People who needed medical attention may have turned to ambulance services because of "interruptions in other clinical services," according to the researchers, while an increase in psychological distress may also have contributed to the increase in presentations.