Paramedic mental health is an emergency

As frontline paramedics and ambulance staff, as well as students, academics and retirees are stepping up to help manage current demand and keep the public safe, with this comes an increased risk of work-related stress, anxiety and moral injury.

This is coupled with the additional challenges of having to distance from friends and relatives who may serve as support networks, avoid social gatherings and group hobbies, which may usually help with stress management, working long hours where getting enough rest may be challenging, avoiding frequent shopping which can make it more challenging to eat nutritious food, and gym facilities being closed, making it slightly more difficult to engage in physical exercise, all of which are extremely important for your mental health. As well as complex ethical decision-making and the loss of patients, many of you may have experienced the loss of colleague(s). Taking time to recognise the toll all of this may be taking on you, as well as renewing yourself, has never been more important.