Toronto public health report urges action to prevent suicides
December 12, 2014
In a recent report to the Toronto Board of Health, the city’s public health department declared that suicides outnumber homicides in the city by four to one, with an average of 220 people dying by suicide each year. The report makes several recommendations for suicide prevention, including the promotion of problem-solving and coping skills education in schools, checks on the distribution of some over-the-counter medications, and – most controversially – the installation of “platform edge doors” at the city’s subway stations (a clear barrier along the subway platform edge, with doors that open only to give access directly into a waiting train). Directors of the Toronto Transit Commission already approved this change in 2010, but the project has still not been funded due to concerns about its estimated cost of $5-10 million per subway station. Board chair Joe Mihevc noted, however, the likelihood that this cost would be offset by increased efficiency, as trains can safely enter and exit stations more quickly with such platform barriers in place.
Spark Extra! Read the report: Suicide Prevention in Toronto.