Suicide prevention in pharmacies
Written by Centre for Suicide Prevention and Living Hope: A Community Plan to Prevent Suicide in Edmonton
People who are in suicidal crisis do not want to die – they want the pain of living to end, and often, they experience a kind of tunnel vision that prevents them from seeing past their current state of mind.
However, the intervention of just one person can make a significant difference in helping that person see hope.
There are many points at which we can intervene with a person thinking about suicide, and one of those is at the pharmacy. Pharmacies, pharmacists, and other pharmacy workers can be pivotal in suicide prevention for a number of reasons:
Pharmacists are in a unique position to help those thinking about suicide: they are trusted, easy-to-access health careproviders
Medications such as acetaminophen are purchased at the pharmacy; acetaminophen is one of the most common methods used in Alberta to attempt suicide
Almost anyone who has prescription medication will see a pharmacist on a regular basis – they are an important touchpoint for those who may otherwise be socially isolated
Centre for Suicide Prevention and Living Hope: A Community Plan to Prevent Suicide in Edmonton have partnered on a targeted suicide prevention initiative for pharmacies.
There are four main goals of this initiative:
To educate pharmacy workers about the warning signs of suicide and steps to take if they recognize someone who may be at risk so they can reach out to help;
To empower pharmacy customers with the knowledge that they can reach out to help someone who is thinking about suicide;
To inform pharmacy customers that help is available for people who are struggling;
To educate pharmacy customers about the lethality of the medication they are purchasing and advising them to keep the medication in a safe place, so that someone, particularly a young person, in their household cannot access the medications.
This initiative consists of info sheets for pharmacy staff and info cards for medication bags and strategically placed signage for pharmacy customers.