Prison officers are taking more mental health sick days than ever as the demands of their job push them to breaking point.
Sick leave for mental stress rose 50% in the past decade and 2022 was the worst year yet – with 86,000 days lost, up from 65,000 the year before.
The Prison Officers Association blames poor pay and jails being overcrowded, violent and short-staffed.
National chair Mark Fairhurst said: “We call ourselves the forgotten service. We must be the only frontline uniform service put on the front line after six weeks of training. We want a trained counsellor employed by every prison on-site. If I’ve just dealt with a death in custody, instead of going home and hitting the bottle or wallowing in it, I want to speak with a trained counsellor. That might keep me on duty and might help me.”
The figures, uncovered by Labour, show huge rises in mental health sick leave at the biggest jails. At Bullingdon in Oxfordshire and Moorland, South Yorks, there was a 200% increase in the 2021/22 financial year. Channings Wood, Devon, had a 300% increase from 175 days to 770. And there was a 1,000% rise at Thorn Cross in Cheshire, from 39 to 490.
Shadow Mental Health Minister Rosena Allin-Khan said it was “alarming”, adding: “This Government is neglecting our public services and destroying our workforce.”
The Prison Service said: “We provide extensive mental health support for our hard-working staff.”
