Samaritans have been visiting elderly people who have attempted or contemplated suicide in an effort to tackle the growing problem of depression among the aged.
Twenty volunteers have been going in pairs to talk to up to 10 people about a subject that is traditionally taboo.
The scheme was launched as the number of elderly people killing themselves climbed 17 per cent to 285 last year from 243 in 1997. The figure in 1986 was 222 victims.
A third of the people who killed themselves last year were aged 60 or above.
The high-risk elderly being visited, mostly in their 60s and 70s, were referred to the scheme by relatives, homes for the elderly and medical workers, said Frances Law Yik-wa, information manager of Befrienders International, which runs the Samaritans suicide prevention hotline.
The project, which started in January, is targeting about the same number of men and women.
One had tried to kill himself by overdosing on medicine, Ms Law said.
