Whanganui's high rate of suicide is extremely worrying and needs to be discussed honestly and openly.
That is the view of Whanganui District Health Board associate director of nursing and mental health Jeff Hammond, who said the board was putting suicide prevention in the spotlight and had invited an authorityon the subject to give a presentation next month.
Dr Annette Beautrais is a professor at the University of Canterbury and is the suicide prevention co-ordinator at the South Canterbury health board.
Dr Beautrais has 26 years of international research in suicide prevention and has previously delivered training programmes to health professionals throughout New Zealand.
