IT’S vital to break the stigma around mental ill-health and focus on prevention rather than cure, South Yorkshire Police Federation has said.<\/p>\n
Federation Chair Steve Kent was speaking as a new nationwide study of more than 12,000 police officers was published, suggesting rates of trauma-related mental disorders are \u201cexacerbated by poor working conditions\u201d, such as too little time and a lack of support dealing with difficult situations.<\/p>\n
The study, led by the University of Cambridge, linked these issues to high levels of PTSD and complex PTSD among police officers. Previous surveys have suggested that one in five officers suffers from PTSD.<\/p>\n
Steve said that the Federation and the force were working hard to support police officers who were struggling with their mental health.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cOur door is open. We\u2019ve now got a counsellor in our office for a day and a half every week. The force has got a good provision for counselling for occupational health.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut there\u2019s still the reluctance to come forward with mental health problems. What we are starting to see is officers coming to us about their colleagues, who we then approach, have conversations with and get them through the door.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s clearly a reticence and stigma, and it\u2019s really important for us to start breaking down that stigma. What I\u2019d also like to see from the force is that every frontline officer who has to deal with any level of trauma, whether it be dealing with victims, dealing with actual frontline incidents, should have an annual psychological health check-up.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe force should do that and it should be mandatory and happen every year in the same way that self-defence does. I have to say that the force, as well as the Federation, is very good at reacting to mental health issues. What we\u2019ve got to try to do better is stop them developing and spot them early, and start thinking more about prevention than cure.\u201d<\/p>\n