Suicides in Aberdeen have more than doubled in four years, prompting calls for more help to be offered to workers affected by the oil and gas industry crisis.
The new statistics paint a stark picture of the strain on the Granite City’s population as large-scale job losses take their toll.
There were 43 deaths from intentional self-harm – or what were considered probable suicides – in 2015, according to NHS figures.
That was up from 35 in 2014 and continued a steady increase from only 19 in 2011, when a new recording method began.
During the same period, the national total fell from 889 to 672, a drop of almost a quarter.
The number of women among those taking their own lives trebled in the four-year period – from four to 12.
Aberdeen remains below the average national suicide rate for the four years – along with Aberdeenshire – while the Western Isles is slightly above average and Highland, Shetland and Orkney are among the highest.
But the sharp rise – which mirrors a spike in 1996/97 at the time of a previous round of major job cuts – has caused concern among support charities.
The chairman of the Aberdeen branch of the Samaritans, Peter Benton, encouraged firms to seek help for their staff.
While he had seen no direct evidence to link the dramatic rise to the oil industry squeeze, he added: “Speaking as a human being, you would have thought there would be some effect”.
He and other volunteers have been a number of workplaces over recent months but are keen to expand the work.
“Some organisations, by the very fact that we have been invited in, show that they are taking care of the emotional and mental health of their employees,” he said.
“But if we had more of those invitations it would please us. We would have to man the pumps but we could do that.”
Minister for Mental Health Maureen Watt – who is the MSP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine – said: “Any suicide is a tragedy and we are working closely with our partners to continue the downward trend in suicide rates which we have seen in the last ten years.
“We are investing £150million over five years to improve mental health services in Scotland including increasing access to psychological therapies and improving front line responses for people who are in distress or crisis.”
