Letter – Joseph Cooper-Nolan, 14 June 2024

RE: Report to the Tasmanian Government on suicide in Tasmania 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2018

To:
Director Tasmanian Mental Health, Alcohol and Drug Directorate
Tasmanian Chief Psychiatrist and
Tasmanian Coroner

Dear Director, Chief Psychiatrist and Coroner

I hope my email finds you, your teams and families all well and I note on page 18 of the report on suicide in Tasmania between 1 January 2012 – 31 December 2018 that there were 142 suicides at non-residential locations

For details see please see a copy of the report below:

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-12/Report_to_the_Tas_Govt_on_Suicide_in_Tasmania_2012-2018_DoHTasmania2021.pdf

Can you please advise of the 142 suicides that occurred at a non-residential location how many were at a hospital and the method of suicide, eg. hanging, overdose etc, given that this information is not contained within the report?

And given that it appears the Tasmanian workplace health and safety regulator has never investigated a single hospital inpatient suicide which is despite the fact that any unnatural death that occurs at a workplace such as a patient suicide at a hospital is a reportable and notifiable incident under the Tasmanian Work Health and Safety Act, a matter that I have raised on a number of past occasions directly with the Tasmanian Health Minister, the Tasmanian Minister for workplace safety, WorkSafe, the Coroner and the DPP

In addition I note that a second Tasmanian Suicide Register report was released in 2021 however this report is not available online at the Department of Health and can you please forward me the link to this report and or a copy of the report and any other similar reports?

See link below from the Premier’s website that does not have the report:

https://www.health.tas.gov.au/mentalhealth/suicide_risk_and_prevention/the_report_to_the_tasmanian_government_on_suicide_in_tasmania_2012-2018/tasmanian_suicide_register_report

Finally can you please advise of the suicides listed in the second report that occurred at non-residential location how many of these occurred at a hospital and the method?

I look forward to a reply at your earliest convenience and am happy to discuss this request anytime and my mobile: 04xxxxxxxx

Best regards

Joseph Cooper-Nolan