Elderly get help to prevent suicides

Months ago, by mixing purple, green and blue cleaning fluids, 63-year-old Ms Yiu concocted a suicidal solution for her woes. Fortunately, the timely arrival of a friend thwarted her attempt to take her own life.

Now, Yiu is part of an elderly outreach programme set up by social workers from the Suicide Prevention Services. Her experience is testimony to the importance of community outreach in suicide prevention.

The group runs a 24-hour hotline to help people fight off thoughts of suicide. The hotline receives at least 100 calls a day.

Suicide rates among Hong Kong's elderly rose sharply last year, with a 61.3 per cent increase in the 60 to 69 age group. With the elderly accounting for 36 per cent of suicides, it prompted concerns that those aged over 60 were particularly vulnerable to self-harm.

"Long-term illnesses, poor family relations and financial problems are the primary causes," said the group's executive director, Vincent Ng Chi-kwan. "The holiday period is an especially tough time since many of the elderly are left alone."

There also tends to be a lack of knowledge among the elderly in terms of mental and emotional health, Ng said.