Mental health: caring for the paramedic workforce

While mental health-presenting patients are an expanding area of paramedic practice, more must be done to address the health of paramedics themselves.

Paramedics and ambulance crews see incidences on a daily basis that the average person may only experience once in a lifetime. On top of this, paramedics are also expected to respond to catastrophic events, such as the Grenfell Tower fire or the Manchester Arena bombing, and continue working afterwards.

However, the pressure to perform and the desire to save lives can often mean that paramedics are overlooking their own health for the sake of others.

Mental health charity, Mind, revealed that blue-light staff in England and Wales have a higher rate of suicidal thoughts than the general public. In survey of 1600 staff and volunteers, more than 27% had contemplated taking their own lives as a result of stress and mental health problems. What's just as shocking is that 63% thought about leaving their job for these same reasons—which could have a disastrous effect on the profession. Sixty-two per cent said they had experienced at least one of these conditions: depression; anxiety; obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD); post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); bipolar disorder; and schizophrenia. High levels of workplace stress can exacerbate mental health problems, which a staggering 92% of respondents have experienced.