Poor mental health among emergency responders has been brought to the forefront following recent data from a survey of almost 4,000 staff and volunteers across police, fire and ambulance services in the UK.

The statistics come as Mind announces the relaunch of their Blue Light Programme of wellbeing support for the emergency services, which has been funded by The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The online survey found that mental health has worsened across 999 services, but that ambulance staff were worst affected with only one in four (26%) of ambulance staff reporting their current mental health as very good or good.  This is compared to just over one in three police (35%) and almost two in five (39%) fire service workers.

The startling statistics showed that Ambulance staff were the most likely to say their mental health has worsened since the start of the coronavirus pandemic at around 77%.  This was also compared to police (66%) or fire service workers (65%).

One in four (25%) of 999 staff and volunteers surveyed rated their current mental health as poor or very poor. The highest proportion of respondents saying they had poor mental health were within the ambulance service, at almost one in three (32%). This compares to just under one in four (23%) respondents from the police service and one in five (20%) within the fire service who currently rated their mental health as poor.

Responding to these survey findings, Emma Mamo, Head of Workplace Wellbeing at Mind, said; 'We know that even before the coronavirus outbreak, there were high rates of poor mental health across the emergency services. It’s clear from this latest survey data that the mental health of our emergency responder community has got even worse, with ambulance staff and volunteers hardest hit. Blue light staff have told us that working within the emergency services - especially the ambulance service - is a hugely rewarding but challenging job.

Our survey data and interviews with 999 staff and volunteers indicate that coronavirus has made these roles even more demanding, as staff are faced with making more difficult and potentially life-and-death decisions on a daily basis, as well as dealing with death and bereavement, in addition to concerns for their own health and wellbeing and that of their loved ones.

‘It’s really important that our hardworking emergency responders are able to access support for their wellbeing if and when they need it. Thanks to funding from The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s COVID-19 Response Fund, Mind is delighted to once again be providing wellbeing support, training and resources to all 999 staff and volunteers via our Blue Light Programme.

'Over the next year, we hope to be able to reach as many people as possible who need our support. We also hope to help employers embed best practice so that staff and volunteers can continue to access the right support for them in the short and longer-term, as we begin to come to terms with the true mental health impact of the pandemic.'

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Carrie Plummer - Editor & Content Manager