By Bill Heaney
Poverty, deprivation and poor public services are driving more and more people to suicide in West Dunbartonshire.
MSP Jackie Baillie has spoken of the “tragedy” of lives lost to suicide, after rates in West Dunbartonshire almost doubled in a year.
Data released this week by the National Records of Scotland, reveals that 16 probable deaths by suicide took place in the local authority area in 2024.
The figure is almost double the previous year’s toll of nine probable deaths by suicide.
Three women and 13 men lost their lives.
Figures also highlighted a continuing link between suicide and deprivation.
There is a high instance of people choosing to commit suicide by drowning in the River Leven.
Nationally, 704 probable suicide deaths took place across Scotland in 2024 – an 11 per cent decrease from the 2023 figure of 790.
Jackie Baillie urged the SNP Scottish Government to take action to tackle the issue, saying: “Any fall in the number of deaths by suicide is welcome, but there has been no such fall in my constituency.
“The community in my area has experienced an almost doubling of the figure of families devastated by suicide.
“The link between deprived communities and suicide has been a long one, yet little has been done by the SNP Government to address this.
“There is absolutely no room for complacency – behind these figures are hundreds of people let down in their hour of need and hundreds of families destroyed.
“More must be done to ensure that people can get the help they need when they need it – whether it’s improving care for those in crisis, tackling long waits for mental health support, or providing the wider support people need.”
The rate of probable suicide mortality in the poorest communities in 2024, was 2.5 times higher than in the least deprived areas.