Health Ministry Allocates 18 Million Euros for First Suicide Prevention Plan

Today, the Cabinet approved the allocation of nearly 18 million euros to the autonomous communities to initiate the actions agreed upon in the first national suicide prevention plan. This severe social issue has been on the rise in recent years in Spain, claiming the lives of 4,116 Spaniards in 2023 (eleven each day), including over two hundred under the age of 25.

The main objectives of the Health Ministry's grant include reforming emergency departments in general hospitals to enhance accessibility and acceptance of individuals in mental health crises. It also aims to create community prevention devices targeting individuals with identified risks and patients with severe illnesses or chronic pain who are vulnerable to suicide.

All efforts are aligned with regional plans addressing the same issue, reinforcing specialized telephone support teams integrated into the regional healthcare network. Continuous training and supervision of key community agents, such as police officers, firefighters, emergency healthcare workers, and social workers, who deal with at-risk individuals, will be promoted. These 'gatekeepers' are professionals trained to assist and accompany individuals in severe emotional crises, preventing or containing initial suicidal impulses.

The state grant also supports awareness campaigns to promote understanding of suicidal behavior, with messages against discrimination and stigma of vulnerable populations, aiming to create social environments that foster prevention through empathy and accurate information.

With the same preventive goal, community programs will be developed to strengthen the emotional well-being of the elderly, LGTBI groups, and socially excluded citizens, some of the main risk groups. These actions will also focus on caregivers, promoting their self-care and mental health, and will include support measures for families who have lost a loved one to suicide.

In the same meeting today, the government agreed to allocate another 39 million euros to the autonomous communities to strengthen their mental health care improvement plans. Among the eight blocks of measures is the reinforcement of human resources in care facilities, with the inclusion of peer support figures with mental health experience.

The plan encourages alternatives to patient confinement, funding resources such as crisis houses, home care teams, autonomous living support interventions, and addiction prevention programs. Actions also include mechanisms to avoid involuntary interventions and the creation of support figures for exercising the rights of individuals with mental disabilities.

It promotes training programs and campaigns for the appropriate use of psychotropic drugs and their prescription at all care levels. The plan seeks to improve accessibility to care for vulnerable individuals and enhance the training of professionals in gender violence and victim support.

The plan places special emphasis on promoting preventive actions and specialized programs for children, a group currently highly affected by these health issues. It also aims to create alternative care options to hospitalization for children and adolescents with disorders. Additionally, measures that promote access to decent employment or the maintenance of existing jobs for individuals with mental disorders are funded.