Durban - A woman has been left in a critical condition after she jumped in an allegedly attempted suicide from the sixth floor of a building on Snell Parade in Durban on Saturday.
Medi Response spokesperson Leon Fourie said they received reports of a woman threatening to jump from the sixth floor yesterday morning.
“The woman ultimately jumped from the elevated position, sustaining critical injuries in the process,” he said.
Fourie said Medi Response and Citi Med paramedics worked to stabilise the critical patient.
“The woman was transported to hospital in a critical condition,” he said.
In March, while South Africa was commemorating Human Rights month, Dr Kagisho Maaroganye, the South African Society of Psychiatrists (Sasop) board member and public sector psychiatry national convener, said lack of treatment for mental health conditions were a serious issue.
Maaroganye said with the low rate of access to treatment, the vast majority of people with common mental health disorders such as anxiety or depression suffer in silence.
“In the meantime, people with mental illness face discrimination in the workplace and in job and business opportunities; and their displays of disorganised or unusual behaviours and speech patterns damage their reputation and standing in society,” he said.
“A society without human rights is a society without dignity, no matter how rich it may be. A society where large parts of its citizens are mentally unwell is still poorer and unjust even if everyone else is physically fit,” he said.
– South African Depression & Anxiety Group – Sadag
(0800)12 1314
Sadah is Africa’s largest mental health support and advocacy group.
– Lifeline South Africa
(0861) 322 322
24-hour crisis intervention service. “Emotional First Aid station”.
– Adcock Ingram Depression and Anxiety Helpline
(0800) 70 80 90
Adcock Ingram is a leading South African pharmaceutical manufacturer sponsoring a support line to provide immediate help for people suffering from anxiety and other mental health issues.