Police with mental health illness need support

IT is cruel that more police officers are suffering from mental health problems, the Chairman of Essex Police Federation said.

Steve Taylor said mental illness should not be a dirty word and officers who are suffering should receive the same level of compassion and support as those with a physical injury.

He was responding to the results of a survey undertaken by the Police Dependants’ Trust, which showed that officers are twice as likely to take a week or more of work with mental health problems than with a physical injury.

Steve said: “The fact that we have far, far more mentally ill colleagues than we do physically ill colleagues is cruel.

“A colleague of ours spoke to me about breaking their leg resulting in a short stay in hospital. As a team the officer’s shift gathered round, they visited hospital, they brought gifts, chocolate, fruit, cards. The officer made a recovery and got back to the team, got back to work fully aware of the support their team had offered.

“The same officer then finds themselves in a mental health crisis which results in them being away from work, so the effect on the team is exactly the same, their colleague’s not at work. And this is the same team, the same group of people. No one visited, no one contacted, no one brought flowers, no one brought chocolates or a card. Why is it?

“My view is we don’t understand mental illness, and this is all of us across the length and breadth of our force. Do we completely recognise that it’s just as debilitating, the effects of it are just as serious as for those injured in a physical sense?

“The emotional support that we can give to colleagues with mental illness is just as vital and just as necessary. So there’s things we can all do at every level.

“Sometimes a bit of self-reflection isn’t a bad thing, and it’s not a criticism of the officers in that example and the team in that example. It’s lack of knowledge and understanding of mental illness. It’s not and shouldn’t be a dirty word. It needs the same level of compassion and support that officers facing physical debilitation receive.”

Steve said he would like to ask Federation members how they would like to see him make sure mental health is a priority within the force, adding that he would do his best to reduce the stigma around it.

He added: “I can increase awareness, help to reduce the stigma that I think exists. I’d ask the membership how, as the leader of the Federation, would you want to see me driving the issue of mental health forward? What do you think I should be doing? Because there will be our members, there will be colleagues out there, who will be fully versed on mental health.

“I think it’s only fair to say that we have seen improvements locally. The Blue Light Pledge within Essex police, which all elements of the organisation have signed up to, has led to referral times for those who are first put in contact for occupational health coming down from weeks to days. That could get better, it could always get better.”