P.E.I. chief coroner calls for improved tracking of suicides

P.E.I.'s chief coroner wants a faster, more efficient system for tracking suicide deaths in the province, and government says it reviewing its options. 

At the moment, deaths by suicide are counted annually and included in a report by the coroner's office. Chief coroner Dr. Desmond Colohan said an electronic database would make the process more efficient, and would also make information available more quickly.

• Opposition calls for suicide prevention strategy
• P.E.I.'s suicide rate below the national average

Current system 'labour intensive' 

Colohan said updating the tracking system for deaths has been a priority of his since he became chief coroner two and a half years ago. 

You've got to go back and look through all the individual cases for that year and identify the ones that are applicable.- Desmond Colohan

Record keeping is currently paper based, which Colohan said can be "extremely labour intensive."

"To actually retrieve that information … you've got to go back and look through all the individual cases for that year and identify the ones that are applicable, and then record that number."

Colohan would like to see P.E.I. adopt a system similar to the one used in Nova Scotia, which tracks information about deaths as they are investigated. The database can also be used to look at cases based on groups such as age range, gender, or specific circumstances surrounding deaths.

Useful information for government, public

With a database to track deaths, Colohan said information about suicides would be publicly available more quickly. Though he said faster tracking of information wouldn't make a difference to his job as a coroner.

"If you're a planner, planning the mental health system or the, you know, the death investigation system, then you need a more long range type of gathering of information to make decisions about which way things are going, and which can be changed," said Colohan.

But he said more timely access to information could be useful for other "players within the system" such as government, as well as people who have lost a loved one to suicide.

Colohan noted that the suicide rate on P.E.I. is fairly consistent year over year, and the rate is lower than the national average. But he said information, such as age ranges for suicides in the province, could help inform plans for suicide prevention.

Government 'fully supports' modernization​

A spokesperson for the department of justice said in an email that government "fully supports the modernization" of the tracking system. The department has started a review of the system used in Nova Scotia to determine if it would be a good fit for P.E.I.

The spokesperson noted that if a new system is implemented, coroners and pathologists would need to be trained in new reporting practices. That training would impact the time frame of when a new system would be in place.

Colohan noted that government sometimes moves slowly, but he is optimistic that changes will happen eventually.

"I'd like to seen it happen yesterday. The reality is probably months to years, as supposed to weeks to days," said Colohan.

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