Economic Cost of a Suicide??????

I don't know if I should have placed this within "Humor" instead of "Cosmos" I mean this is funny is a really twisted sense......Thank you for calling the Prince Edward Island Hotline, you're frail mental stability is very important to us. However, our offices are currently closed. If you would like to leave a message press "1", if you plan to committ your suicide during non-business hours, please call the Prince Edward Island Morgue at 555-555-5555, where you will be afforded the opportunity to leave a voice recorded "Last Will in Testament" for your loved ones to cherish forever. If you wish to speak to an operator please call back during normal business hours. Our offices are open from 9-5 Monday through Friday. Thank You for your call.....Beeeeeeeep............

Anyways I have a question for a Canadian friends. What exactly is the "economic cost of a suicide" as referenced below?

Quote:

---

TORONTO (Reuters) - A Canadian province will shut its 24-hour suicide hotline and replace it with one that operates only during business hours.

Prince Edward Island, a small province on Canada's East Coast, says it is too expensive to operate the hotline around the clock. Starting June 1, it will be open only between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.

The plan drew protest from mental health groups across the country on Wednesday.

"How many times, when you get upset or worried or concerned about things, is it in the middle of the day? It's usually at 3 or 4 o'clock in the morning when you wake up," said Joan Wright, executive director of the Canadian Association for Suicide Prevention based in Edmonton, Alberta.

The hotline received about 1,400 calls a year and about 50 were from people contemplating suicide, health groups said.

"One of the things I was hearing is the government felt there weren't enough suicide-related calls," Wright said.

Prince Edward Island, Canada's smallest province with a population of about 137,000 people, is trying to tame its budget deficit. The hotline cost about C$30,000 ($24,000) a year to run.

"It's a very small amount of money in our view," said Reid Burke, executive director of the Canadian Mental Health Association.

"(Given) the economic cost of a suicide, if governments pay attention to dollars and numbers, not what happens to people, it just doesn't make sense."

($1=$1.26 Canadian)

---

OK, I will try to give you a "rational" answer..............please realise that this in no way represents my views on the value or sanctity of human life.

Suicides are messy.............you need an autopsy, CSIs, coroners, medical examiners, path labs........because they could be a murder?........even bungled ones cost bucks?

You take the cost of all that on average per incident, and balance it against the cost of the helpline. And then you have to factor some sort of value judgement on the effectiveness of the helpline, as that saves the costs I have just mentioned (sure there are others, but this is just a "for instance"?)

Then you get the "economic cost of a suicide"

So, if you work out that it costs $10,000 to deal with a suicide, and $15,000 to prevent it.............

Hell, they don't even know how many of these people get sorted out and go on to pay major tax revenues :rolleyes:

I am afraid that it is political "pseudo science"

My views :)

im probably wrong but i'm under the impression that those that go threw with killing themselves dont tell anyone of their plans while those that do confide in others really arn't out to kill themselves but are really asking to be helped. maybe they would go on to kill themselves if they couldn't find help or even someone to talk to.

were there more suicides before there was a suicide hot line?

As a Canadian I will attempt to answer this...P.E.I. , as it is known in Canada, is an economically deprived island...with an extremely high rate of unemployment and an abundance of Newfie Screech :D ...
$30,000 does not seem like a lot of money...but it buys alot of Screech...

As for the "economic cost of a suicide"...well...someone has to go in and clean up the mess, dispose of the body, the evidence of suicide so the families can claim the insurance, the pay offs to the mortician and the investigating officers ( usually in large quantities of P.E.I. potatoes ) , drying out the body for the purposes of smoking it later, etc...

Hope that explains it! :p

Eg ;)

<a series of dial tones> oneeighthundredCALLATT. **sorry do they have ATT?
A tout le monde
A tous mes amis
Je vous aime
Je dois partir
These are the last words I'll ever speak and they'll set me free.

I can speak a little Canadian-French.;)



Bigworm

Also, and I'm only speculating here, but doesn't Canada have a national health care system? So in theory, a botched suicide that results in lifelong medical care being neccesary would cost a fortune to the government.

Hi Debs,

You are absolutely correct! ;)

Eg ;)

Hi,

Please look at this: http://www.samaritans.org.uk/

Then do a Google search for "The Samaritans" please use the inverted commas, you will get about 160,000 hits.............

They are in Western Australia, New York, Hong Kong.............

A charity organisation available 24/7/365(6)............doesn't cost the government a penny.....

Canada has a fine public health system, as does the UK (once upon a time), but it is not their job to provide this sort of support..............the charities do a far better job........health services should only cut in when a clear medical/psychiatric need is identified.

OK I will try to look for some humour here...............this is a fact:

Suicide was a crime in the UK up until fairly recently..........the penalty was death..........serious! ;)

I suppose the logic was that one was attempting to murder oneself?

Perhaps some of our Canadian members would care to point the authorities in the direction of the Samaritans organisation.............it might help everyone?

Cheers,

:)

Hi nihil,

That looks like a good site! ;) I guess with access to the internet 24-7 nowadays...and the abundance of forums there will less dependance on call-in centres...that could be one of the motivating factors in their decision.

Eg ;)