Since the middle of last year, the Kalmar region, together with the association of municipalities, and a number of other authorities and organizations, have had a new routine for how they best provide support to close relatives in the event of a suicide.
Daniel Abrahamsson is an official at the municipal association, but also works as an elected politician in the municipal council in Kalmar municipality for the Social Democrats.
- The most important thing in this routine is that the survivors themselves do not have to apply for help, he says.
Stay in touch for at least a year
The idea is that each relative will be contacted the next weekday by a designated employee at the health center where the relatives are registered.
The calls continue recurring for at least a year, with one or two month intervals.
The anniversary can be particularly difficult to deal with.
- It is a question and a need that is raised above all by the survivors themselves, but also by blue light staff who have had a very difficult feeling when leaving a case, says Cecilia Gamme, health developer at the Kalmar region.
In the work on the routine, they have turned to the authorities and organizations that in their professional practice have experience in providing support in difficult situations.