Opinion

The facts around suicide and detention orders

The recent media and political reports about the young pregnant mother detained under the Mental Health Act 2001 show a large lack of knowledge of what suicidal ideation is and how mental health law works around it.

If any person arrives to A&E in an actively suicidal state they are assessed quickly and admitted for psychiatric care. If they are unwilling to stay voluntarily in psychiatric care, there is a thorough process of medical reviews to determine if the person’s suicidality is based on a psychiatric illness. 

Suicidal ideation is not a mental illness. It very frequently is a symptom of an underlying illness, a mood disorder or a psychotic episode. Psychiatric care would be negligent if it did not identify this illness and treat it even against the patient’s will. The law in this regard makes no reference to whether the patient is pregnant or not – the issue is whether the person is mentally ill as defined under the Mental Health Act.

When the young mother presented as suicidal, the consultant in charge assessed her as having a mental health disorder and in that situation rightly put the mental health legislation in action by initiating a detention order and starting to treat her. Pregnancy is not a mental illness but if it was causing her severe anxiety or depression. The correct course of action is to treat the anxiety or depression. When she was then assessed subsequently as not being mentally ill, she was discharged.

It is very misleading for media reports to suggest she was detained because she asked for an abortion.


It is unreasonable to demonise psychiatrists who provide appropriate psychiatric treatment for patients who present as suicidal while pregnant – as a lot of evidence has shown, abortion is not a treatment for suicidal intent.


I say all this as a psychiatric nurse who believes in the human dignity of all life, at all stages of life, regardless of the circumstances of that life.

JAMES KEVIN FOLEY


BSc, RPN, Counselling Dip.


Clondalkin, Dublin

City region deal for Northern Ireland is no brainer

The north is losing out on millions of pounds from city region deals which have been awarded to cities in England, Glasgow and Cardiff.

The question is why has the north not got a city deal?

Mark Durkan and the SDLP have been championing the concept of a city region deal for Derry and Belfast for the last few years.

The time has come to deliver a city region deal now which will give greater powers and resources to city regions to stimulate and support economic growth and promote job creation.

Already 29 cities in the UK have got city deals, in 2014 Glasgow negotiated a £1.13bn deal for Glasgow City Region.

In March 2016, Cardiff negotiated £1.2bn investment in the Cardiff Capital Region’s infrastructure. The deal includes: £734m for South Wales Metro;

£50m extra government cash for Catapult compound semi-conductor project; £495m for other projects including an ‘innovation district’ and investing in a software academy, data innovation, a cyber security academy and new approaches to public service delivery; increased support for house building; supporting business growth.

It is important to note that the contribution from Treasury for Glasgow and Cardiff was £500m and £580m respectively have been outside the Barnett formula.

The RSA City Growth Commission report Unleashing Metro Growth said there needs to be greater recognition of ‘city-regions, or metros as the main drivers of economic growth in an increasingly knowledge driven global economy’.

The transformative impact of city deals has been fully recognised in the UK, yet regrettably in the previous assembly, we were informed that ‘neither ministers nor officials in the executive office had discussions with Treasury’ on the matter of a city deal. This is a disgraceful situation.

A city region deal for Derry and Belfast is a no brainer. It is now imperative it is one of our top political priorities.

Cllr TIM ATTWOOD


SDLP, West Belfast

Secular  solution to theological difficulty

The weakness with Jarlath Kearney’s premise in his recent article (May 31) is that it is a secular solution to a theological difficulty and that while the mixed banality of slogans from Je Suis Charlie to the repackaging  of patriotic sentiments of June 1940 may help in the short time, they are but a band aid to the open wound of a society that has replaced divine love to the mediocrity of a poppet songstress.

The solution is a return to the Regensburg address of Benedict XVI  in 2006, where the seed of a different approach maybe be discovered.


Stating that Divine Truth associated with violence and revenge is anathema  with the truth revealed in the personage of Jesus Christ and ultimately reveals that Truth (John 19:37). Indeed the blogsite: The bones that you crushed shall revive, sets out the historical example of St Francis of Assisi  meeting with the Sultan of Egypt at Danietta in 1219, where such truth was proclaimed and respected in and through love. Similarly, a century on from the solution to the world’s difficulties  entrusted to three shepherds was rejected, should we not now be emboldened to grasp such a gift, that unlike Mr Kearney’s word craft, will deliver.

JDP McALLION


Clonoe, Co Tyrone

Marxist ideology

The British general election was just over when the majority of newspapers in the UK decided to ‘beat up on’ Jeremy Corbyn because he’s a ‘Marxist’. This seems a bit harsh as Marxist ideology is what the Conservative Party, French political parties and many Irish political parties etc are based on. (Once politics strays from the path of common sense, it strays onto the path of Marxism).

The next few months may be a bit scary for some, as the future of the Republic, Britain and the rest of Europe is to be decided on, by a number of politicians (not all) who believe in the illusion of so-called ‘same sex marriage’. They believe a man can become a woman via an operation and that it’s a ‘human right’ for a mother to terminate her unborn baby. 

Is this not similar to placing a board of directors in charge of a football team who are willing to leave the players without boots, socks and jerseys hoping the club will thrive.  

Perhaps Jeremy Corbyn is a Marxist, however the very journalists and politicians who are pointing the finger at him, have themselves over the years spread Marxist ideology a lot more than he ever has. 

JOHN DONOHOE


Co Cork 

Brexit is the will of British people

No Mr Macron, Brexit is not a ‘crime’ as he stated. It is the majority will of the British people.

This is known as which is diminished on a daily basis by the EU, as it seeks to be ruled over by two countries, Germany and France.

The real crimes in Britain are the terrorist attacks against its people, along with matters like the terrible fire in London, which citizens in the UK see are the issues which concern them.

Compared to these and the other tragedies life throws up regularly, Brexit takes a back seat. Arrogance has no place when civilised language concerning political discourse is entered into.

ROBERT SULLIVAN


Bantry, Co Cork

One church politics

I expect that ‘one church’ unionism will, in the medium term, undermine the union. I fear that ‘one church’ nationalism will prolong it. 

MUIRIS de BHULBH


Co Chill Dara