A MENTAL health charity in Swindon has called for improvements to services after national statistics revealed suicides among men are at their highest since 2001.

The Service User Network Swindon (SUNS) charity, which provides help to those with mental health conditions, says 60 per cent of their contacts (defined as people phoning in and texting) come from men aged between 16 and 65.

Problems range from loneliness, depression, work-life stress and mental illness with many calls coming from the town centre.

SUNS’ statistics closely follow the report collated by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), which shows 19 deaths by suicide for every 100,000 men in 2013 with 6,233 suicides of people over 15 in 2013 – an increase of four per cent from 2012.

More than three quarters (78 per cent) of these were men with the most vulnerable age group, between 45 and 59.

In one year, SUNS received 21,900 contacts, a slight increase on 2012/2013 with between 40 and 150 contacts per night.

Ann Mooney, SUNS chairman, said: “We only have one person on during the night so that person will talk on the phone to people and at the same time text people who want to talk.

“SUNS will contact emergency services if a person says that they are contemplating suicide or has attempted it.”

Tracy Massey, 46, who was helped out by SUNS and now fundraises for the charity, said: “They saved my life. I got help from SUNS, they stopped me from taking an overdose.

“SUNS has been my lifeline. At the moment it does not have any funds. The services that they offer are a lifeline to people – I get a courtesy call each evening so if I am feeling low I can go and speak to them and make sure I am okay.

“It’s like a family.”

Ann says the financial situation is dire and that funding from the council was stopped.

She said: “We have enough funding for maybe just over a year. Considering the amount of people that we need to help each day we are now fundraising in supermarkets and shops to make sure we can survive to meet that need.”

The Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS said they have multiple schemes running to work towards suicide reduction, including Project Zero – which provides support to those with depression, plans to introduce ‘self-harm registers’ and follow-up schemes for those who frequently attend A&E after a period of self-harm.

A spokesperson for the trust said: “LIFT Psychology services in Swindon and Wiltshire offer free courses helping people to manage and overcome their depression, anxiety or stress, preventing the condition from becoming more serious.

“Over the last decade there have been big advances and increases in evidence-based treatments and services for depression including psychological therapies services, to which anyone registered with a GP can go with no referral.”

Call SUNS on 01793 436174.