More firefighters go off sick with 'stress'
STRESSED-OUT firefighters struggling under the pressure of extra work are missing hundreds of shifts after calling in sick.
Latest figures show Staffordshire firefighters missed 514 shifts with stress and anxiety between April and September.
That compares with 190 lost shifts with the same condition over the same period last year.
It means stress and anxiety is now by far the most common reason for employees calling in sick at Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service.
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Union leaders today blamed the sickness absences on pressures at work.
But brigade officials say there is no evidence budget cuts are to blame and denied the number of firefighters was in decline.
Barry Downey, secretary of the Fire Brigades' Union's (FBU) Staffordshire branch, said: "With the number of firefighters falling year-on-year there are less and less of us, but the same job needs to be done so firefighters are doing more and more.
"Clearly some of our personnel will be suffering from work-related stress because of that."
It has also been suggested that support staff are under stress because of the threat of redundancy.
Mr Downey added: "We have union members who work in the control room. That role is looking at being merged with West Midlands so those jobs are certainly at risk.
"Staff there could certainly be concerned about their job security."
The brigade, which employed about 900 firefighters at the start of this year, must save £4 million between 2011 and 2015 as part of the Government's spending review.
Overall, long-term sickness among staff has gone up, with 1,124 shifts lost from April to December this year, compared with 716 last year.
Meanwhile, short-term sickness has gone down, with 752 shifts lost from April to December this year, compared with 941 last year.
The fire service said there was no evidence that increased pressure at work accounted for the rise in stress-related sickness.
Director of People Judith Doran said: "We have a small number of staff on longer term absence related to both musculoskeletal problems and psychological wellbeing, which has resulted in an upward trend over the last six months.
"The increase is based on a small number of long-term absences from a cross-section of staff with a variety of causes, not all related to work.
"We actually have more firefighters currently than a couple of years ago – it is only senior operational staff who have recently retired who have not all been replaced, as existing members of staff have moved into those positions instead."
Comments
by NOONESHOME
Wednesday, December 05 2012, 3:44PM
“Huey
you can work wonders with statistics, as we all know. The point is, it is not all the firefighters having all the time off, it is the the same small band of lead swingers who have the time off for one spurious excuse or another,Leaving their work mates to do the extra work that they should be doing.I am surprised we have not had a firefighter on here telling us they know the same old people who have the time off.In every workplace it is a small selection of people who are the ones who have most of the time off.One sure fact is, If those people did not get paid, they would be working,instead of pretending to have bad backs or stress,etc.Fact.”
by Huey_Hog
Wednesday, December 05 2012, 1:28PM
“Get a grip!!! Total sickness = 1876 lost shifts. The ambiguous phrase " April to December" is either 7 or 8 months. Therefore annually that's either 3216 or 2814 lost shifts. With 900 staff thats either 3.5 or 3.1 shifts per person. 3 days/year? Not exactly lead swinging of the highest order is it?
Shifts lost to stress are less than 1 per person per year.”
by mole10
Wednesday, December 05 2012, 12:58PM
“I'm told that one fireman is scared of fires, water and fire engines.
He's off work with 'stress'.”
by kwb6158
Wednesday, December 05 2012, 11:08AM
“its not the stress of what Firefighters see, they are saying its the extra work and the pressure of cut backs??the job is alot lot more than burning buildings too.
untill you have done the job no one can judge...simples.”
by THETROJON
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 6:02PM
“The fire service is no different from the NHS workers only the paramedics do see lots more stressful work, than a building on fire.Dont forget every burnt, rtc patient they see the paramedic will see a hell of a lot more death and stressful situations.After dealing with death more or less every day we just get on with it. fire service go off work sick as they get paid..
The main problem with the fire personal is they have had to stop going to bed on night shift..15 hour shift 12 hours of it in bed ..
Go to any car crash house fire and you will seee loads of fire personal standing around doing nothing . 10 personal to get a cat out of a tree come on guys get real, now you have to work for a living and not have two jobs as you did before 1 for the fire service and 1 job else where ...stop moaning be thankfull you have jobs ....”
by kjhgfd
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 3:35PM
“mommanoesbest
i see your point but i don't condone my friends actions ,far from it thats up to him ,but you say i should report him,oh yes ,,ring ring hello can i report my friend he says he has a bad back,,,reply oh yes and how do you know he hasn't got a bad back..thanks doctor”
by NOONESHOME
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 2:55PM
“Nancy
They are not helping anyone if they off sick all the time,We all know it is only a few that swing the lead most of the time, putting extra pressure on the good hard working ones who do not swing the lead.Firemans jobs are like gold dust,along with all the public sector.When was the last time you saw a firemans job advertised? I have never seen one,as with most public sector workers they take the time off because they know they can get away with it. If these people cannot cope with the job they should not be employed in that position,as they are a danger to the public.If you cannot stand the heat, get out of the kitchen, find yourself a job in the real world, That will be an eye opener.”
by gerbstoke
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 2:05PM
“@nancey. "They see all sorts of things that the average person could not handle. Could you people handle seeing the devastation that they see". Well love, they can't handle it can they? That's why they are off with stress. If they can't handle it then the ones who have time off should find them selves different jobs”
by Anon_mow_cop
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 1:44PM
“@gerbstoke
That was tried in some cities in the US a few years ago, and failed miserably.”
by mole10
Tuesday, December 04 2012, 1:19PM
“It's not really a good idea to become a fireman if you are scared of fires, now is it?”