Suicide: our national emergency

Nurse Kerrie Keepa was part of a group that lobbied Canberra politicians this week in a bid to get them to pledge to curb suicide rates in their electorates.

Labor candidate for Bowman Kim Richards flew to Canberra with Ms Keepa to sign the pledge.

Ms Keepa, whose 21-year-old son committed suicide after being turned away from Redland Hospital in 2014, joined forces with former government health adviser Professor John Mendoza last year.

Together they presented data to politicians showing the suicide rate was higher than the road toll and had risen 20 per cent in the past decade.  

Bowman had the 23rd highest rate of suicide out of Australia's 150 electorates, according to the study, which was conducted by Professor Mendoza’s company Connetica.

The data showed 60 people had committed suicide in Bowman between 2009 and 2012.

They also asked politicians to sign their pledge after also explaining the need for more funding to educate health professionals on how to handle suicidal patients.

Ms Keepa told of the grief following the suicide of her son, Chris Ball, and also of her two sisters, brother and a nephew.

 “We believe if the 45th Parliament does not act on these statistics it will be an act of negligence. 

Suicide doesn't have a ripple effect, it's a tsunami for every family,” she said.

Professor Mendoza, who took up the campaign after his nephew committed suicide, said the data confirmed suicide was a "national emergency", as Lifeline has labelled it.

"We see people experiencing the stress of job uncertainty and financial pressures," he said. "When these become overwhelming, suicide becomes, in their mind, the only option."

Since joining forces, Ms Keepa and Professor Mendoza have waged a war against the lack of education in hospitals for treating suicidal patients.

Ms Keep set up a Facebook page, called Survivors Of Suicide, which now has more than 1million followers and is dedicated to talking about mental illnesses.

Both decided government needed to help those suffering from depression and other mental illnesses after her son’s death in September 2012.

Along with Ms Richards, Bowman LNP candidate Andrew Laming and Greens candidate Brad Scott will also sign the pledge.