Ambulance staff feeling the pressure

ALMOST one in four ambulance staff in the region took time off work because of stress in the last financial year, new figures show.

One in eight workers across England took a total of 80,000 stress-related days off in 2016-17, said the GMB union.

Its Freedom of Information request to ambulance trusts covering paramedics and health care assistants showed that 22% in the North East took time off.

Kevin Brandstatter, GMB national officer, said: “These disturbing figures once again prove what we already know - that our frontline ambulance workers are in the midst of a stress and anxiety epidemic.

“They are consistently overworked, underpaid and expected to do incredibly difficult jobs, such as dealing with the aftermath of the Grenfell disaster or Manchester bombings, without adequate staff or resources.

“Theresa May needs to stop burying her head in the sand and start listening to frontline ambulance workers.

“Workforce numbers haven’t kept pace with sharply rising demand. Forcing ambulance staff to work up to the age of 68 is another major cause of stress.

“The absences caused by staff shortages and overwork are already contributing to potential delays in attending incidents.

“If any patients lose their lives as a result, the blame falls fairly and squarely on an uncaring Tory Government for not dealing with stress and anxiety of our frontline emergency staff.”