News
Blog: Emergency Services and Mental Health
by guest blogger Annabelle Martin
When we are in trouble, in danger or just need help we call 999 or 111 and most of the time things get sorted. But who do the people who save lives on the daily go to when they are the ones who need help?
Being part of the Emergency Services (Fire, Police, Ambulance and Coastguard) is a scary and dangerous job. Sometimes you could be waling into a burning building, facing a domestic or abusive call or the call we all dread: going to a place where someone is no longer with us. Sometimes it takes more than clocking off and going back home just to forget what they could have seen today.
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- 1 in 20 Emergency Services workers have made an attempt to take their own life due to stress and other factors
- 1 in 4 (27%) have considered ending their lives
- 62% say they have experienced a mental health problem
- Over 9 in 10 respondents have experienced stress, low mood and poor mental health at some point while working for the emergency services.
By looking at this table above our Emergency Services need help as much as we do at times of need.
Where can I go for support as an emergency responder?
- Read Mind’s mental health information for emergency responders
- Read Mind’s information about types of mental health problems
- Visit the Mental Health At Work website for toolkits for the ambulance, police and fire services
- Visit The Firefighters Charity website
- Go to Police Care UK
- Visit The Ambulance Staff Charity website
- Speak to your line manager to find out if there’s an Employee Assistance Programme or other forms of formal mental health support at your workplace
- Check if there are staff networks or mental health champions in your organisation. (Mind, 2021)
Another good website to look at is the Royal Foundation created by the Prince and Princess of Wales (William and Kate). The aim is to bring people, projects and different resources together to help one another and to create a long term positive impact.
On this website the Prince and Princess of Wales say “We owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our emergency services. The COVID-19 crisis showed their personal sacrifice and willingness to put the interests of others above their own. This work was born out of a recognition that, even in normal times, the work of the emergency responder community places tremendous demands on their mental health and wellbeing, and that more can be done to safeguard their mental health.” (Royal Foundation, n.d.)
They are absolutely right, we do owe a debt to our emergency responders, because if it wasn’t for them so MANY of us would be in danger, struggling or in desperate need of help right now. So I for one am completely grateful for them.