At the weekend, news told about Knut Lie, Sindre Folgerø and Thea Aasbø, who have all lost a loved one to suicide. Based on their own experiences, they criticize the weak follow-up of survivors. news and the Cooperation Desk recently conducted a survey with 335 survivors of suicide. The cooperation desk between news, LLA and SUJO This case is prepared with figures and interviews obtained by the Cooperation Desk, a joint journalistic project between news, the Center for Investigative Journalism (Sujo) and the National Association for Local Newspapers (LLA). Fredrik Walby, psychologist specialist and researcher at NSSF. Photo: Patrick da Silva Saether – These are people who have a threefold increased risk of suicide, compared to people who have not been left behind, according to Fredrik Walby from the National Center for Suicide Prevention and Research (NSSF). Missed call from crisis team The survey revealed that: Two out of three experienced the follow-up as not very good. Half were never contacted by a crisis team or others in the municipality after the suicide. 28 percent had suicidal thoughts, which they had not had before. Three out of four experienced problems with family life afterwards. The figures do not surprise Knut Harald Ulland, secretary general of the National Organization for Survivors of Suicide (Leve). – It is a regular occurrence among our members that it is very variable, and often poor follow-up of the bereaved, he says. This can have several negative consequences. – You often end up struggling to get back into working life, which brings with it financial consequences and isolation. All these things put together mean that you can also develop suicidal thoughts, says Ulland. General secretary of Leve, Knut Harald Ulland says that many survivors contact him about the lack of follow-up. Photo: LEVE There is a national guide for follow-up of survivors of suicide from 2011, but Ulland believes that several municipalities do not use it. – I think the supervisor is in a lot of drawers around. We want follow-up of those left behind to be enshrined in law. It is vital, he says. Do you need to talk to someone? If you need to talk to someone after reading this case, there are several helplines, chat services and support groups where you can share your thoughts and feelings completely anonymously, and get support, advice and guidance: Mental health on helpline: 116 123 Mental health also has a chat: mentalhelse.no. Chat service for youth: mentalhelseungdom.no Chat service from Church SOS: soschat.no Church SOS helpline: 22 40 00 40 Church SOS also has a message service in Northern Sami Cross on the neck from the Red Cross: 800 33 321 Cross on the neck also has chat: korspåhalsen.no In urgent cases, call 113 Sami national competence service – mental health care and substance abuse: 78 96 74 00 You can also talk to your GP. Little has happened with the action plan In 2020, the government came up with a new action plan for the prevention of suicide, “No one to lose”, which will apply until 2025. A main point is to ensure “immediate and long-term follow-up of survivors”. Under this point, it will be assessed whether the supervisor for survivors should be improved, and whether it is necessary to introduce a standardized follow-up course for this group. Four years after the action plan was presented, this has still not been decided. The Directorate of Health says they are working on it. Asking the Minister of Health to get involved – It cannot be the case that the follow-up you receive as a survivor is entirely up to where you live, says Storting politician Sandra Bruflot (H). – These figures show that we have a long way to go, says Storting politician Sandra Bruflot (Right). Photo: Hans Kristian Thorbjoernsen She believes the government must ensure a standardized follow-up process, so that the offers are more similar across the country. Storting politician Even Røed (Ap) agrees that the follow-up of those left behind is too poor. Even Røed, Storting politician from the Labor Party. Photo: Kate Barth-Nilsen – This is a group that we must have much more focus on in the future than what we have had so far. – We must have a system that is able to capture and carry out outreach work towards this group, he says. Storting politician Bård Hoksrud (Frp) is shaken by the figures that come out in news and Samarbeidsden’s investigation. Bård Hoksrud (Frp) has a clear expectation of the Minister of Health. Photo: Nadir Mohammad Alam / news – That 28 percent have had suicidal thoughts after experiencing a suicide, and have never thought those thoughts before, is a warning that we are not doing a good enough job, he says, and follows up with a clear expectation: – The Minister of Health must address this. He must give a clear message to the health authorities that they must have a dialogue with the municipalities. A better system needs to be put in place here. Admits to poor follow-up – This is an issue that has unfortunately been too careful to tackle, says Karl Kristian Bekeng, State Secretary in the Ministry of Health. State Secretary Karl Kristian Bekeng (Ap) Photo: Truls Alnes Antonsen / news – We must be honest that it is worrying that there are too many differences in the follow-up of those who are close to suicide. It is an extremely stressful experience and requires good and systematic follow-up to be able to prevent future psychological problems. What will you do to look after this group in a better way? – We provide both financial support to the municipalities to strengthen low-threshold services, we run courses and skills development through the regional resource centres, and not least we also have to revise the guidelines in this field, so that we get more standardized courses for this group. In 2024, the government distributed 150 million to strengthen low-threshold services in the municipality, which Bekeng refers to. The money is not earmarked. Os and Fusaposten recently wrote that this money ended up in “the big black hole” due to poor municipal finances. Published 18.11.2024, at 11.56
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Several politicians react to the fact that those left behind after suicide do not receive vital follow-up – news Vestland
