Death by suicide is a highly relevant public health problem that impacts and causes pain to thousands of people every year around the world.
Preventing suicide is possible and everyone is a key actor in its prevention. Through action, you can make a difference for someone in their most difficult moments. For this reason, the Ministry of Health implemented the *4141 line, a free telephone strategy where you can go in times of crisis or mental health emergency.
Given this, the Seremi de Salud is promoting the dissemination of the telephone help strategy, *4141, by installing signage in different health centers in the region such as CESFAM Fray Jorge de Ovalle and CESFAM Las Compañías de La Serena .
In this regard, the Seremi of Health, Dr. Paola, explained that “A person at risk of suicide requires timely help from mental health professionals; they must be guided so that they can receive assistance at the health center closest to their home or connect with a help line such as the Specialized Suicide Prevention Line *4141” she explained.
Meanwhile, the Mayor of the Ovalle commune, Jonathan Acuña, after participating in the installation of the signage at the CESFAM Fray Jorge, pointed out “We are in a campaign that we have started with the Seremi de Salud and the Health Service, which is related to to be able to protect and safeguard those people most prone to suicide. For this reason, today we are urging the signage of this number *4141, which aims to be a support or help to all people who are going through a complex situation.”
In La Serena, the dissemination activity was carried out at the CESFAM Las Compañías. On the occasion, Rodrigo Fernández, director of the Gabriel González Videla Municipal Corporation, said, “We are inaugurating an information plaque, which contains a call number whose function is to provide a lot of help, which is *4141. This is a very important strategy in the work of primary care health teams.”
Finally, the Mental Health representative of the Health Service, Patricia Paz, explained how the *4141 line works, after the call from the community. “After calling and speaking with the psychologist specializing in crises, they in turn contact you with a specialist in the region, that is, with the mental health team at their Health center.”
Line *4141:
The *4141 hotline is completely free and can be called from cell phones from Monday to Sunday, 24 hours a day. Through it, people who are facing an emergency or mental health crisis associated with suicide can contact a specially trained psychologist who will listen to them and help them.
