More than 600 members of the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service (NIAS) were forced to take time off work due to stress-related illness over the last three years.
Some 644 ambulance staff in Northern Ireland required sick leave for stress, anxiety or depression between 2020 and 2022, according to figures released by the NIAS in response to a Freedom of Information request from Belfast Live.
The highest number of absences (258) because of stress-related illness was recorded in 2022-23. This was a rise from the 240 recorded in 2021-22 and 146 the previous year, which was during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic.
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Meanwhile the number of NIAS staff who required sick leave for stress, anxiety or depression between 2020 and 2022 was 272 in 22-23, a rise from 259 the previous year and 159 in 20-21.
Males accounted for the higher proportion of absenteeism, with 497 men taking sick leave for stress in the three years period between 2020 and 2022 compared to 239 females.
In response to the figures, Ann Marie McStocker, NIAS Head of Health, Wellbeing and Peer Support, said: “This year NIAS became the first ambulance trust to embed a seven day a week Critical Incident Stress Management Peer Support Service in response to the demands of the role and the work environment.
"We welcomed the Department of Health’s HSC Staff Wellbeing Framework, that acknowledged the increased risk to wellbeing of staff exposed to distressing incidents or emotionally taxing situations. Although NIAS welcomed new staff this year the health and social care system continues to be a difficult physical and emotional working environment.
"We are experiencing the positive impact of investment in wellbeing through our Health and Wellbeing Strategy and joined up working across HSC trusts. However as waiting times and demands continue, NIAS colleagues striving to provide compassionate care, can be at risk of moral distress when the circumstances impede their ability to provide the care they want to, increasing the burden on staff”.
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