William: I developed ‘split personality’ to cope with stress of air ambulance job
PRINCEWilliam admitted his struggles as an air ambulance pilot yesterday as he unveiled mental health support measures for 999 workers.
The Duke of Cambridge, 39, who spent two years working for the East Anglian Air Ambulance after previously serving as an RAF Search and Rescue helicopter pilot, confessed he “misses the uniform”.
But he recalled how flying to treat injured children in particular affected him badly because of thoughts about his own family.
He said: “In the air ambulance, any job I went to with children, that really affected me, much more than I think if I hadn’t had children actually. So, for me, it was the relationwith my personal life and the incident I was at – I found that very difficult. There were a number of times when I had to take myself away because I was just getting too involved in it.
“And then I’d go to talk to someone else after the event, which was really important, but it continues, it doesn’t really leave you there – you just manage it better.”
He was speaking at a symposium in London launching the Blue Light Together initiative, a set of common standards to support staff, which will be adopted by all emergency services across the UK. Developed by William and Kate’s Royal Foundation and other bodies, they include prioritising mental health in the workplace, promoting openness and providing tools and support.
William, 39, is particularly passionate about mandatory decompression breaks, where staff can put distance between the horrors they have witnessed and their time with family and friends.
In a speech to 200 frontline workers, he said: “I remember returning home with the stresses and strains of the day weighing on my mind, and wanting to avoid burdening my family with what I had seen.”
He described “having a split pership sonality – one for home and one for work”. He added: “That’s why I’m passionate about the need for mandatory decompression breaks.
“The work you do is some of the toughest out there, and we owe you an enormous debt of gratitude. I would only ask that you look out for your own wellbeing, just as you tirelessly care for everyone else’s.”
William later spoke to Met Police chief Cressida Dick, who said her force lost 70,000 working days last year due to mental health issues.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said his brother Bas Javid, a Met Police officer, suffers “bruises and cuts” – but “we don’t talk about the mental ones”.