§ Mr. Peter BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he is taking to raise public awareness of the rate of suicide by young men; and what support he will give to the Doctor Patient Partnership Campaign, Suicide: Helping Men Cope. [76741]
738W
§ Mr. HuttonThe Department continues to work in collaboration with users of mental health services, the voluntary sector and professional bodies with a view to reducing discrimination, improving the lives of people with mental health problems and contributing to a reduction in suicide rates. We welcome the campaign 739W launched by the Doctor Patient Partnership. This campaign complements other efforts to focus upon the mental health needs of young men, such as the Department's own helpline Campaign Against Living Miserably, launched in December 1997 in Manchester, which targets young men at the onset of depression. We regularly meet the Samaritans, who backed the Doctor Patient Partnership campaign, to look at other initiatives to reduce suicide rates in young men.
§ Dr. StoateTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on the Doctor Patient Partnership's campaign Suicide: Helping Men Cope. [76577]
§ Mr. HuttonWe welcome the campaign launched by the Doctor Patient Partnership to reduce suicide rates among young men. It complements other efforts to focus on the mental health needs of men such as the Department's own helpline Campaign Against Living Miserably, launched in December 1997 in Manchester and aimed at young men. The Department continues to work in collaboration with users of mental health services, the voluntary sector and professional bodies with a view to reducing discrimination, improving the lives of people with mental health problems and contributing to a reduction in suicide rates.