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37
the Suicide Act, 1961, the law has been brought into line with
modern thought and attempted suicide is now considered to be a
medical and social problem and not one constituting an indictable
offence.
In general, it is now agreed that the number of suicides could
conceivably be reduced by medical means for in many instances,
signs of abnormality were discernible before death and comparatively
few cases had received psychiatric treatment. Depression,
which appears to be a common factor in elderly suicides, did not
receive as urgent attention as it might have. Much can be achieved,
on the one hand, by the general practitioner in reassuring and
explaining illnesses which often assume monumental proportions
in the lives of the lonely and, on the other, by the lady public
health officer or social worker who could help to disperse some
of the financial worries and assist by bringing community welfare
services to bear.