Increasing number of officers signed off with poor mental health

10 September 2024

Nottinghamshire Police Federation secretary Tom Hill says a 12 per cent rise in the number of officers off work with poor mental health in the past year must ‘serve as a wake-up call’.

A total of 255 Nottinghamshire Police officers were signed off work in the 2023-24 financial year due to mental ill-health, a rise of 28 from the previous year.

Tom said he was not surprised by the figures and pointed to the branch’s Pay and Morale Survey from earlier this year which found 40 per cent of respondents found their job stressful.

The survey also found that 82 per cent of respondents experienced feelings of stress, low mood, anxiety, or other difficulties with their health and wellbeing.

Tom said: “Our own Pay and Morale Survey highlighted the mental health pressures our members are under so these figures, while they make for difficult reading, are not a surprise.

Traumatic incidents

“Policing is a unique profession that makes a difference to people and communities, but it also has it’s challenges.

“Officers are exposed to traumatic incidents on a regular basis, their workload and the demands on them are greater than ever, and their pay and conditions have been eroded.

“We saw with the recent riots the vital job police officers do but also the very real threats they face every day.

“They are only human and things do build up.

“These figures need to serve as a wake-up call for the Government and police leaders.”

The figures have been revealed by Police Oracle via a Freedom of Information Act request.

They show that across the UK, 14,508 officers were signed off in the 2023-24 financial year with stress, anxiety, depression or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

The national figure is nine per cent up on last year and 130 per cent higher than when Police Oracle first ran its survey 11 years ago, when 6,294 officers were signed off for poor mental health.

Tom said the figures could also suggest that officers are more likely to ask for support for their mental health.

Support

He said: “More and more officers are feeling confident about coming forward with mental health issues, which is great. While there’s still a lot of work to do, the stigma is becoming less.

“We’d encourage our members to look out for each other as often we’re best placed to know if our colleagues are struggling.

“PFEW recently launched its #AskTwice campaign, which aims to encourage officers to speak to their workmates to spot the early signs of mental ill-health and intervene if necessary.

“There are lots resources, support, and guidance on the #AskTwice campaign website.”

Hayley Aley, PFEW co-Lead for wellbeing, echoed Tom’s comments and said heavy workloads, resourcing issues, and exposure to traumatic incidents were having an impact on officers.

She said: “At the moment, nobody knows whether an officer is going to a string of traumatic incidents in a week. If an officer goes to 10 road deaths in a month, they’re likely to be impacted by that. It can’t be right there aren’t more preventative measures in place so an officer isn’t overloaded by these incidents.”

Stressful

Andy Rhodes, the National Police Chiefs’ Council’s (NPCC) wellbeing lead, told Police Oracle: “Stressful, fast-paced situations and repeat exposure to trauma can affect officers and many police staff in a number of ways, which is why we are committed to supporting the psychological wellbeing of our people, working closely with leading experts and with the dedicated occupational health teams in forces.

“Every force is committed to early intervention using tried and tested trauma debrief models, combined with mental health peer support and psychological risk assessments, alongside a structured wrap-around for those assaulted using the Op Hampshire assaults package.

“We now have a chief medical officer for policing, who sets the national standards for Occupational Health and has also developed a national suicide action plan. More recently, we were given £100,000 of additional funding from the Blue Light Card Foundation and The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of Wales, to help three Police Treatment Centres across the country cope with the demand that followed the recent unrest.

“Policing is a rewarding career as long as the right support is made available to those who need it, when they need it.”

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