‘Police officers are now afraid to go out on the streets and actually do their job in fear of what repercussions they may face.’

‘Each week I receive between 10-15 calls from people reaching out, taking the first steps to seek help and advice. I also receive between three and four calls every week from people in crisis. It is getting worse.’

A London based charity that supports emergency service members and their mental health has spoken about the shocking increase in calls they are receiving each week by members of the bluelight community and others in need of support.

Gary Hayes, from Hornchurch is a co-founder of PTSD 999 and works everyday to help support police officers, firefighters, paramedics and prison staff. He and his team deliver emotive, hard hitting, and informative presentations that reach out to all blue light colleagues in need of support.

“Every time we go through our presentations, endless officers right across the services come forward and ask for our help.

“Each week I receive between 10-15 calls from people reaching out, taking the first steps to seek help and advice. I also receive between three and four calls every week from people in crisis. It is getting worse.”

Recent figures revealed have shown a 9% increase in the amount of police officers signed off work due to PTSD, anxiety and depression. But sadly this is not unexpected for Gary.

“My concern is that these are the figures for those who have come forward. How many are there that have not come forward, that have not shared the fact that they are struggling?

“We know that there is still sadly a stigma attached to mental health issues and so many do not come forward.

“Armed police officers are frequently struggling but fear to come forward and have faced immense pressures of late.

“So many police officer are now afraid to go out on the streets and actually do their job in fear of what repercussions they may face. They aren’t afraid of tackling danger, but they are afraid of what their colleagues may say or those in senior positions. They really are at the point where they are scared of stepping out onto the streets for what will happen next. That’s the situation we are in.”

Gary also talks about the complex mental health issues our bluelight members are suffering with.

“Frequently guilt is another factor that is impacting our 999 workers. So many of them feel guilty about losing a person. Whether its a paramedic or a police officer that struggled desperately to save the life of another knife crime victim. Guilt places huge pressures that then leads to people to developing addictions, that we all know leads you down a rabbit hole.

“These are people suffering with trauma and it has become so much worse over the last few years. Factors such as knife crime, officers trying to stop bleeding and watching youngsters die in front of their very own eyes.”

One officer, having dealt with so many deaths including one one of youth, got to the point where he had chosen to say goodbye to the world, but was fortunate enough to have been saved by paramedics and gradually, after leaving the police force, got his life back.

“Unfortunately, there is still not enough being done to support our bluelight workers’ mental health. Sadly it is just a box ticking exercises for most services.

“Police leaders do not go out on the front line like our response officers so do not see exactly what they are faced with and the reality is that they do not even begin to understand why these officers now, do not want to go out on our streets anymore or the trauma so many are suffering.”

Our bluelight service members do a truly fantastic job on our streets everyday, surely it is time we give them the right support they need.

If you would like to chat with Gary and his team, please email support@ptsd999.org.uk or call 07957252955.

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