emergency services received more children in September for suicidal gestures and thoughts than in previous years

Emergency services received more children in September for suicidal gestures or suicidal thoughts than in previous years, according to the monthly bulletin on mental health, published Thursday October 10 by Public Health France.

According to this bulletin, which compiles indicators on mental health in France in emergency services or at SOS Médecins since 2021, “the number of incidents for suicidal gestures and suicidal thoughts was higher in September than in previous years” among children aged 11 to 17 years, i.e. higher than in the months of September 2021, 2022 and 2023.

In detail, during the month of September, visits to emergency rooms for suicidal actions among children aged 11 to 17 increased by 70% compared to the month of August (+587 visits). Regarding suicidal ideation, visits to emergency rooms are on the rise “marked” for the month of September (+101%, or +569 passages compared to the month of August).

Overall, if we take into account all mental health indicators, visits to emergency rooms for children were on the rise. “marked” over the month of September 2024, according to Public Health France, compared to the month of August, with a weekly dynamic however “comparable” to that of previous years. Concerning adults, the number of SOS Médecins procedures and visits to the emergency room for suicidal thoughts among those over 25 remains “superior” to those of previous years.

Prime Minister Michel Barnier announced at the end of September that he wanted to make mental health the “great national cause” of the year 2025. Psychiatry is undergoing a serious and persistent crisis in France: a third of hospital practitioner positions are vacant and the volume of beds is decreasing, while the number of patients has doubled over the last twenty years.