Victorian woman calls to improve mental health emergency support after partner's death by suicide

What's next?For Sara Hoffmann, the pain of losing her 39-year-old partner Shane to suicide was compounded by watching paramedics standing by, unable to enter their property until police arrived.

She said that while Shane had managed to secure some psychiatric support, everything went downhill in late January when he went into "a bit of a state". When paramedics attend call-outs, if forced entry is anticipated or identified as being necessary, a request is made for urgent police, fire or State Emergency Service attendance.With precious minutes passing, Ms Hoffman decided to break into their garage through a window, desperate to get to Shane."We are not sure how long he was like that but I do know that maybe if the ambulance got in when they arrived, maybe it might have helped — just that little bit of time," Ms Hoffmann said.

"Unfortunately a lot of our members have been assaulted in circumstances like that, where you are dealing with a patient in a mental health crisis."Mr Hill said while there was no single answer to all the problems raised by Ms Hoffmann's petition, there was a key issue to consider. A Victorian government spokesperson said any loss of life due to suicide was a tragedy and their thoughts were with family and friends during the difficult time."The causes of suicide are complex and loss of life to suicide has long-lasting and far-reaching impacts," the spokesperson said.

A new suicide prevention and response strategy was being developed for Victoria in partnership with people with lived, and living, experience of suicide.

Source: Healthcare Press (healthcarepress.net)

Mental Health Support Ambulance Paramedics Suicide Petition Emergency Services Ambulance Victoria Mental Health Emergencies

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