MSP who witnessed suicide calls for support for those who experience traumatic events

An MSP who saw a man jump to his death from a tall building has launched a campaign to improve the mental health support available for witnesses of suicide or trauma.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesperson Alex Cole-Hamilton said the “strangers” who play a part in the aftermath of traumatic events are overlooked and often need support to help them overcome what they have seen.

Cole-Hamilton was walking along a street in central Edinburgh when he saw a man fall to his death beside him.

Along with another passer-by, Janice Malone, the pair were among the first on the scene and tried to stop people walking down the pavement until the emergency services arrived.

They both suffered anxiety and other mental health conditions following the incident.

Together, they are calling for improved mental health support for people who have gone through similar experiences.

Cole-Hamilton said: “Janice and I have launched this campaign because we want to ensure that anyone who witnesses distressing or traumatic incidents, like the suicide that we saw, can easily get help and find someone to talk to in the weeks and months afterwards, when they may not be feeling like themselves.

“People die in the arms of strangers every day, but we never think about the strangers afterwards. In the wake of these tragedies many witnesses are left with horrendous anxiety, or bouts of depression and PTSD.

“Janice and I want to use our experience to help other people. I hope the Health Secretary will support us in addressing the insufficient mental health support for the witnesses of suicide or trauma.

“There is a horrible ripple effect on the friends and family of anyone who commits suicide. But it’s time we recognised that the ripple also effects witnesses and strangers walking by. We need to make sure they get help too.”

Cole-Hamilton was reunited with Malone four years after the incident after a mutual colleague made the connection between the two.

Tweeting about the event which happened in 2015, Cole-Hamilton said: “It was a bright and cold morning near the start of the year. Janice and I were walking in opposite directions, but our paths intersected at the base of a tall building.

“We both remember a lot of shouting from above and stopped to look to see what was up. At that point a man took his life from the top of the building and died on the pavement beside us.

“It didn’t seem real at the time, the scene was traumatic, like something from a war zone. I remember reaching for my phone in a daze and dialling 999. Janice and I then had to try to stop people walking down the pavement until the emergency services arrived.

“Although we parted company and didn’t keep in touch there are similarities in what happened to us in the weeks and months after:

“We both had an initial shock response, with mood swings, loss of sleep and heightened anxiety.

“We both sought out counselling through work, but both found it inadequate. Our counsellors were used to dealing with clients with depression or bereavement. What we were dealing with was more like a kind of combat stress.

“In the longer term, things settled down for me. I still find workmen shouting in scaffolding overhead an anxiety trigger and I still have nightmares, but the road back was much harder for Janice.

“A year later she started to struggle, emotionally. She battled depression and anxiety for many months until specialist talking therapy finally helped her to get well again.

“We supported each other at the scene that day but haven’t seen each other or spoken since.”

He added he was “glad she’s back in my world” and that it was “cathartic” to be able to talk about what happened on that day.