THE number of deaths by suicide in west Belfast has more than doubled in just 12 months, it has been revealed.
The latest figures show there were a total of 318 recorded deaths by suicide in Northern Ireland in 2015, an increase of 50 on the previous year.
However, the government statistics, which detail the number of registered deaths due to suicide in each parliamentary constituency between 2011 and 2015, show an alarming increase in cases in Belfast.
In 2014 there were 16 recorded deaths by suicide in west Belfast, but in 12 months that figure more than doubled to 33.
In the same time period there was a 50 per cent increase in the number of suicides in north Belfast, rising from 24 to 36.
In east Belfast there was also a rise of almost 50 per cent in suicides from 11 to 16, with a minor increase from 20 to 21 in the south of the city.
Upper Bann showed an increase of 20 percent, with the 2015 figure of 24 making it the third most prevalent area for suicides in the north, while Newry and Armagh also saw a 50 per cent rise in 12 months, with 21 suicides recorded last year.
There was also a notable spike in Lagan Valley which went from 8 in 2014 to 18 in 2015.
There were areas where the figure did go down however, with the rate of suicide falling significantly from 24 to 17 in Fermanagh and South Tyrone and by almost a third in North Antrim from 17 to 12 in 2015.
The lowest suicide rates in 2015 were recorded in the West Tyrone constituency areas with 10 deaths.
Action Mental Health chief executive David Babington said the statistics made for "grim reading".
When asked why there had such a spike in north and west Belfast Mr Babington highlighted a number of factors
"There appears to be strong links between social deprivation, legacy issues and suicide, and unfortunately, there are parts of both north and west Belfast which are impacted to this day by both," he said.
Professor Peter McBride, CEO at Niamh (Northern Ireland Association for Mental Health) has called for an investment in front-line services.
"To truly make a difference, we need to invest much more significantly in ensuring front line mental health services are embedded in communities like north and west Belfast for people living with mental ill-health," he said.
Mr McBride also recognised that a stigma still exists in Northern Ireland around the subject of mental health.
“It is this stigma that is holding our society back from tackling the issue of suicide and the many other mental health conditions that are all too-prevalent in every community and constituency," he added
The figures were released following an Assembly question from Upper Bann DUP MLA Carla Lockhart.
