California has seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the space of four weeks during coronavirus lockdown, according to a trauma doctor.Medical professionals at John Muir Medical Center in Walnut Creek, California have revealed their experiences in the hospital’s trauma center after mental health took a nosedive amid lockdown. Dr Mike deBoisblank told ABC 7 News: ‘We’ve never seen number like this, in such a short period of time. I mean we’ve seen a year’s worth of suicide attempts in the last four weeks.
His colleague, nurse Kacey Hansen, has worked at the medical center for 33 years and has never seen so much ‘intentional injury’. ‘They intend to die. Sometimes, people will make what we call a “gesture”. It’s a cry for help,’ she added.
‘We’re just seeing something a little different than that right now. It’s upsetting.
Both medical professionals have called for an end to the state’s lockdown, which is currently due to expire at 11.59pm on Sunday, May 31. And Ms Hansen added that it should be okay to visit people in the name of mental health, so long as masks are worn and distance is kept.
