Firefighters on verge of mental health crisis, with sharp increase in sick leave

By Noah Vickers, Local Democracy Reporter

A sharp rise in London Fire Brigade (LFB) staff taking sick leave due to mental health issues has raised concern at City Hall.

Instances of LFB workers signing off sick due to stress, anxiety and depression have gone up by more than 40 per cent since 2018 – and by more than 20 per cent in the past year alone.

Anne Clarke, a Labour member of the London Assembly who requested and received data on the issue, said the “shocking” rise is a “damning indictment” of the Government’s post-2010 austerity programme.

She added that the workforce had become “exhausted” following the pandemic, and that cost of living pressures have left the brigade on the verge of a “mental health crisis”.

The Home Office said funding for fire and rescue services across the UK has increased each year since 2018/19 and that individual fire brigades were responsible for the well-being of their own staff.

Some 18,663 working days were lost in the LFB due to stress, anxiety and depression in 2022 – up from 13,235 in 2018 and from 15,472 in 2021.

Officers at City Hall said the rise “appears predominantly to have been caused by external circumstances following the pandemic, as well as due to improvements in the brigade’s commitment to mental health awareness and action”.

The data was sourced by Ms Clarke via a written question to Mayor Sadiq Khan.

Ms Clarke said: “These shocking figures are a damning indictment of austerity and the budget cuts that have ripped our public services apart. And they could be just the tip of the iceberg.

“Thousands of dedicated firefighters have been doing incredible work every day to keep Londoners safe, as the service reached breaking point.

“The gruelling nature of the job, lasting repercussions of the pandemic and financial worries created an exhausted workforce facing a mental health crisis.

“The brigade is in the process of a major cultural shift, there is still much more to do. Improved mental health support must be a central component of reform.”

The LFB has said it is making such reforms, after an independent review into its culture last year found it to be “institutionally misogynist and racist”.

An LFB spokesman said: “Our fire and rescue staff are frequently exposed to traumatic incidents and we recognise the need to ensure they are properly supported.

“The brigade has a wide range of existing tools and support for staff to reach out to such as a counselling trauma service, mental health first aiders, and wellbeing and learning teams. We also refreshed our Wellbeing Strategy last year and our Supporting Health & Wellbeing Policy went live in January.

“But we acknowledge that our fire and rescue staff are significantly more affected by stress, anxiety and depression in comparison to other colleagues nationally, and absence and wellbeing data shows us that we need to address psychological, physical and workplace wellbeing in order to reduce sickness absence and improve overall staff wellbeing.”

Around 800 managers in the brigade have now been given mental health training, the spokesman added, saying that the LFB would be reviewing its counselling services to meet demand.

Responding to Ms Clarke’s austerity criticism, a Home Office spokeswoman said individual fire brigades were responsible as employers for the health and well-being of their own staff.

She added: “We want to see fire and rescue services where everyone is welcome, treated with respect and able to thrive.

“We continue to work closely with our partners, including fire and rescue services, the Inspectorate and the National Fire Chiefs Council, to make sure the concerning issues about culture in the sector are addressed.”

She also claimed that funding for fire services has increased every year since 2018/19 – with services across the country set to receive around £2.6 billion in 2023/24.

(Picture: LFB)