Decrease in Scotland's suicide rate during 2020

The number of suicides in Scotland decreased by 3% last year, according to official figures.

The National Records of Scotland (NRS) data shows there were 805 probable suicides in Scotland in 2020 - down from 833 in 2019.

Between June and September, however, there were 28% more suicides than usual for those four months.

Men accounted for 71% of suicides in 2020, with deprived areas of the country experiencing the highest rates.

The suicide rate in Scotland's most deprived areas is three times the rate in wealthy areas.

Over the last five years, Dundee has had the highest rate of suicide while East Renfrewshire has had the lowest.

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There was a downward trend in probable suicide deaths in Scotland from the early 2000s until 2017, followed by increases in 2018 and 2019.

Rose Fitzpatrick, chairwoman of the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group, set up in 2018 to advise on and support delivery of the Scottish government's suicide prevention action plan, said: "Whilst there has been a small decrease in deaths by probable suicide in 2020, which of course we welcome, we will never forget that every life matters.

"Suicide is preventable, and so the release of this data is a reminder that our work must continue to focus on giving everyone a role to play in saving lives."

'I'm not alone'

Andy Macalister was struggling with heavy drinking and mental health issues before he tried to take his own life.

The 33-year-old spent three days in hospital recovering from an overdose in 2018.

Since last year, Andy has been supported by staff and volunteers at peer support network Men Matter Scotland in Glasgow.

Andy Macalister says the support from Men Matter Scotland is helping him "put one foot in front of the other" in his recovery

The charity was set up in 2019 and established its own community hub offering support, social activities and counselling just before lockdown started last year.

Its membership has grown over 18 months from around 200 people to nearly 1,000.

Andy said the service has been a lifeline since the death of his partner earlier this year.

He said: "I started going to AA to talk about my drinking. But it was festering and that's when I realised it was in my head.

"I just have to put one foot in front of the other and take things as they come.

"I know I have a lot of good boys and good girls in here. They will be behind me, I'm not alone and I don't have to go through things myself."

'It got to the stage he couldn't hug me'

Suzie McLaughlin lost her 26-year-old son Mark Shorts to suicide last year.

She told BBC Scotland he suffered from mental health problems that were made worse during the isolation of lockdown.

Mark was found dead at his home in Paisley last June.

Suzie McLaughlin said her son Mark's mental health problems worsened during lockdown

Suzie, 58, said: "Mark couldn't spend time with his family and couldn't come and go as he pleased.

"When it got to the stage where he could come visit but he couldn't hug me, I would say, 'Mark, nobody's watching, come and give me a hug.'

"But he couldn't handle that. He had a good family life and when he couldn't get that back, he couldn't cope."

Mark's family are now raising money for Drumchapel-based charity Men Matter Scotland and Suzie said the service may have helped Mark if he had known about it.

"Maybe the way he went, I think, makes it so much harder," she said.

"People tell me he was an adult, he was 26, but he was still my baby boy."

The NRS data shows female suicide has increased in a number of age groups, and is the highest annual total since 2011.

In addition, 20% of all deaths by probable suicide involved people under the age of 30.

Rachel Cackett, executive director of Samaritans Scotland, said: "We know that the pandemic has disrupted all our lives, creating new challenges for mental health and exacerbating existing risk factors for suicide.

"However, it is important to remember that there is no single reason why someone takes their own life and that a range of factors contribute to suicide risk.

"Deaths by suicide in Scotland had been rising since 2017, and so this data is a small but positive step."

Pete Whitehouse, NRS director of statistical services, said: "Suicide deaths decreased slightly on the 2019 level. Monthly figures show that suicide deaths between June and September of 2020 were consistently above the highest numbers seen in these months over the last five years."

He said the statistics were part of an "important analysis of deaths" during the first nine months of the Covid pandemic.

Information and advice

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