There was panic at a private hospital in Pangani area, Nairobi, when a patient who had been admitted there turned violent and died by suicide.
The patient had been brought to Crescent Community Hospital along Muratina Road on Sunday after he was involved in a road accident in the area.
The accident involved a motorcycle, which overturned injuring his head and hand, police said.
While at the hospital, the patient identified as Anthony Macharia, 30, turned violent scaring nurses who were attending to him.
According to police and witnesses, the patient then broke a glass window and used the broken glasses to stab and slit his neck.
An alarm was raised at the hospital in an effort to help the bleeding patient.
The medical personnel and security present rushed to rescue him from his injuries in vain.
Nairobi police commander Adamson Bungei said Macharia said the man bled to death.
“We do not know the motivation behind the incident but investigations are ongoing,” he said.
A team of detectives visited the scene and moved the body to the mortuary pending autopsy and further investigations.
Bungei said they want to understand if the victim had a known medical history.
“It was a scaring scene for the medical personnel and it is part of the reasons we want to understand his past.”
Cases of suicide have been on the rise in the past months in an alarming rate amid calls to address the trend.
A report by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations said at least 500 people committed suicide in separate incidents in three months (March-June) of 2021 in the country.
The data released by the DCI indicated that men were more prone to committing suicide than women.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) says such cases are attributed to joblessness, the breakup of relationships or a death, academic failures or pressures, legal difficulties, financial difficulties, bullying, previous suicide attempts, history of suicide in a family, alcoholism and substance misuse, depression and bipolar disorder.
Globally, close to 800,000 people die of suicide every year with an estimated 78 percent of cases occurring in low- and middle-income countries.
Kenya ranks position 114 among the 175 countries with the highest suicide rates.
A task force on mental health established Kenya has a high burden of mental illness due to ill health, psychosocial disability, and premature mortality with huge gaps in access to care.
The team found out that the majority of populations in Kenya associate mental health and mental illness with negative narratives leading to a low focus on the importance and benefits of mental health and well-being.
Counselors, medics, and psychologists advise that you can always reach out for help when experiencing any mental health issues. Call Kenya Red Cross toll-free hotline, 1199 for support.
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