More than half a million people have successfully completed online training that aims to prevent suicide in the past three weeks, according to the Zero Suicide Alliance (ZSA).
The charity said 503,000 users completed its online suicide prevention course during the lockdown.
The ZSA is a collaboration of National Health Services (NHS) that is committed to suicide prevention in the United Kingdom and beyond. The charity aims to help spot the mental health signs so people may seek help.
In April, NHS England launched a mental health hotline to support staff due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
There has been a surge in demand to complete the suicide prevention programmer, meaning the ZSA had a million participants across the globe since its launch in 2017.
The online course takes about 20 minutes and leads users through the skills they could help someone with suicidal tendencies, tackling stigma, and encouraging open communication. It also includes a shorter introduction module that requires five to 10 minutes.
ZSA co-founder Joe Rafferty said the true impact of COVID-19 on mental health would not be known until the pandemic ends. However, he said, “The stress and worry of the coronavirus is bound to have impacted people’s mental health.”
“Suicide is a serious public health issue and every single death by suicide devastates families, friends, and communities,” Rafferty added.
In 2018, there were more than 6,500 suicides in the United Kingdom, with over three-quarters of them were men, per the Office for National Statistics.
Meanwhile, experts warn that the ongoing pandemic could lead to long-term mental health issues and the NHS should be prepared to address them.
The NHS Clinical Leaders Network has warned that the pandemic could negatively affect front-line health workers.
The group wrote that past outbreaks show “we can expect notable increases in mental ill-health and related issues for front-line workers as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“While preventing the spread of COVID-19 is still a public health priority, we’re saying that this emergency will also leave a mental health legacy in its wake, a legacy that could inflict a damaging toll on NHS and other front-line staff as well as the public at large,” they added. The NHS leaders called for urgent action so health workers do not wait until this problem is upon them.
