to attaining their ambition to die. And you try minute-by-minute to negotiate with that caller.
I was an overnight operator for a generic answering service. Doctors, Attorneys, Long-Distance Telephone service, commercial rental properties, etc. Essentially all I had to do was get the name of the caller and get the right phone number.
One night, I got a caller for a psychiatrist and I thought it was just to make or cancel an appointment. No. He wanted to speak with the doctor NOW. It was 4:00 a.m. I was hesitant, but I woke the doctor and patched the caller through to him. And hung up.
The same caller called me back in 5 minutes, to thank me for my courtesy, and now he was going to kill himself. I wasn't prepared for that situation. So I tried to keep him on the line as long as possible, told him that I couldn't understand why. He was the first decent person who had called all night and I wanted to talk to him longer. After 10 minutes, he had enough and hung up. I immediately called his doctor and told him that his patient was about to kill himself. And the doctor blew me (and the caller) off, saying he was an ex-patient. A combination of panic and infuriation compelled me to tell the doctor that if someone didn't act immediately, the caller was literally going to be an ex-patient. I didn't have time to call the owner of the answering service as I saw potential liability if I didn't get help somewhere else.
I called 9-1-1 and told them to contact the local police. I at least had the caller's name and phone number. The Police traced the number and got to the caller's home before he died. I called later in the day as a follow-up, to be informed that the caller was in the Psych Ward of the local hospital and that he was being treated.
And my take-away from this is if someone tells you s/he is going to kill her/himself, BELIEVE IT.
= new reply since forum marked as read