Ambulance staff made 993 reports of ill mental health last year, a “freedom of information” request has revealed.
South East Coast Ambulance Service (Secamb), which has more than 4,000 staff and operates ambulances across a wide area including Brighton and Hove, reported an increase of 16 per cent compared with 2019 figures.
The figures obtained by the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that staff working in ambulances made 469 reports of of anxiety, stress, depression or other psychiatric illnesses last year.
This figure was up from 390 the previous year, and accounted for 8.3 per cent of all sickness reports made.
Secamb operates across 110 sites across Sussex, Surrey, Kent and north east Hampshire.
Secamb said: “We take staff welfare extremely seriously and are committed to ensuring that staff have the right support they need to manage their mental health.
“Our dedicated Wellbeing Hub, which has been in place since 2018, brought a wide range of support, including access to assessments and wide range of treatment pathways if appropriate, under one umbrella to make it more accessible.
“Staff also have access to well-established official peer-to-peer support and can speak to our own team of mental health specialists in confidence.
“Working for the ambulance service is challenging and we recognise that this year in particular has been particularly difficult for staff.
“We encourage staff talk about their mental health and be willing to report any concerns they have and seek assistance.
“We will listen to staff and make sure that, whatever their job role, they are given the support they need.”
