East of England Ambulance staff offered mental health support

Ambulance staff have been offered increased mental health support at a trust where 10% of staff are off sick, according to new figures.

The East of England Ambulance Trust (EEAST) said extra help was available to "reduce sickness levels".

Dr Ed Garratt, from the Suffolk Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), said the figure was "an indication of the pressure people are working under".

The trust said the wellbeing of staff was its "top priority".

Its board papers showed the sickness rate was 10.38% - twice the maximum 5% target.

As reported by the Local Democracy Reporting Service, Dr Garratt, the CCG's chief officer, said: "The ambulance trust is the area of most concern."

He said the rate was "extremely high", with the biggest factor in terms of sickness being "mental health or stress".

A spokeswoman for EEAST said: "The health and wellbeing of our people is a top priority for the trust and we are fully aware of the impact that the extreme and sustained operational pressures we are experiencing are having on our staff.

"We have been increasing access to mental health services and physiotherapy which we hope will help their wellbeing and also reduce sickness levels."

Tom Abell, its chief executive, said in a recent report that £170,000 was being invested in staff health and wellbeing and about 140 members of staff were acting as mental health champions or wellbeing ambassadors.

"We have recognised that our people are tired and stressed in the wake of the pandemic and high levels of calls.

"We are providing a number of additional health and wellbeing services to support our colleagues," he added.

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