An additional 1000 South Coast residents can now access world-class training to prevent suicide deaths and attempts.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Illawarra Shoalhaven Suicide Prevention Collaborative said the free courses had been made available thanks to a $10,000 funding boost from Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt.
Collaborative regional manager Dr Alex Hains welcomed the funding for the QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) training, which was secured after lobbying from Whitlam MP Stephen Jones.
The bipartisan support comes on the back of a three-month suicide prevention campaign by the Mercury, in conjunction with the collaborative.
During that campaign, 1000 QPR licences (usually $10 each) were also made freely available to the community, after Keira MP Ryan Park successfully lobbied NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard for $10,000.
“QPR training helps people recognise the warning signs for suicide – and feel confident to talk to someone about their suicidal thoughts and help them access help,” Dr Hains said.
“It’s really important that our community leaders, including the politicians, send a clear message that this is important training for the community to do.
“So it’s great to see politicians at both the state and federal level recognise that this is useful, practical, evidence-based training that people can do to reduce suicide deaths.”
Dr Hains predicted the new licences would be snapped up quickly – after the state government funded courses were exhausted within 47 days.
“To date more than 2000 community members have now accessed the training,” he said.
“Our goal is to get 10 per cent of the community trained in QPR – so if someone is struggling with suicidality, then they’re more likely to bump into someone who can help them.”
Dr Hains said QPR was an “important piece of the suicide prevention puzzle”.
“In addition to that the collaborative is working with its members to roll out training through schools and general practices, as well as support those providing services to improve the care people can access,” he said.
Whitlam MP Stephen Jones welcomed the funding announcement.
“Like most people throughout the Illawarra, I’ve had people close to me who have been through a really dark time and I’ve thought to myself ‘if only I had the information and the skills at hand to help them at that point in time, everyone would have been better off’,” he said.
“This online training is a great way to ensure people have some basic skills about how to deal with the situation when they think someone might be at risk of taking their own life.
“A shout out to Greg Hunt who listened to what we were saying, and made the money available.”
Go to www.suicidepreventioncollaborative.org.au/QPR to sign up for free QPR training.
If you or someone you know needs support please call Lifeline 24/7 on 13 11 14.