New Committee on the Prevention of Suicide
At its meeting in Santiago the WFMH Board approved a new committee concerned with suicide prevention. The chairperson is John Connolly, who is Chief Psychiatrist at St. Marys Hospital, Castlebar, in Ireland. Dr. Connolly is involved with the European Network of Suicidology (ENS), which is based at St. Marys Hospital and will be funded by the local health authority for the next three years. Members of the ENS expect to collaborate with the WFMH Committee to encourage the development of research on suicide prevention and the implementation of suicide prevention programs appropriate to different countries. ENS maintains an internet listserv in Castlebar, and a similar listserv will be developed for the WFMH Committee.
Dr. Connolly chaired one of the two workshops on suicide prevention at WFMHs 50th Anniversary Symposium in London in 1998, and gave a presentation on the subject at the World Congress in Chile. International contacts for the new Committee were developed at both events. He also represented WFMH as an observer at a regional workshop arranged by WHO in Tallin, Estonia, on 25-27 August 1999 to examine ways of reducing high rates of suicide mortality. The workshop was chaired by Dr. J.M. Bertelote of WHOs Department of Mental Health.
To add a name to the WFMH Committees membership list, contact
John F.Connolly, M.B., M.R.C. Psych
St. Marys Hospital
Castlebar
Co. Mayo
Ireland
Tel: 353 94 21333
Fax: 353 94 27904
Email: [email protected]