Scale of stress and depression sick days among paramedics in Aberdeen and north-east revealed

Ambulance crews including those based in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire and Moray are taking double the number of sickness absence hours for stress, anxiety and depression compared to three years ago, the P&J can reveal.

Paramedics faced well-documented pressures over the past year with ambulances regularly seen queuing outside Aberdeen Royal Infirmary with patients.

At the end of November, bosses took drastic action and declared a critical incident, which saw ambulances redirected to Raigmore in Inverness and Ninewells in Dundee, adding to the work pressures.

Now, new figures obtained under freedom of information legislation show sickness absence hours for stress, anxiety and depression almost doubled in three years.

The numbers relate to sickness absence hours for paramedics in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. It also includes those recorded by crews in Inverness and Dundee.

The figures show that in 2021, 5,366 hours sickness were taken for mental health reasons, rising to 10,037 hours in 2024.

The rate of sickness absence rate for all categories rose between 2021 and 2023, from 6.5% to 9.1%, before dropping to 8.5% last year.

A total of 30,766 hours were lost to sickness absence of all types in 2024.

Paramedics at sharp end of crisis

Unison Scotland regional organiser John Hackett said paramedics are at the sharp end of an NHS crisis.

“It’s already a stressful job but the fact that ambulances with patients are stacked up in hospital car parks waiting to get into A&E compounds matters,” he said.

“Ambulance staff work longer unplanned shifts and over-time, and have to miss rest breaks which contributes to exhaustion and anxiety.”

Aberdeenshire East Conservative MSP Alexander Burnett said the figures show paramedics face unacceptable demands.

He said: “Medics are waiting for hours to get patients seen at hospital, which must be a huge burden on staff members.

“But they aren’t letting anyone down at all – the responsibility lies with John Swinney and a succession of SNP health secretaries.”

Hospital handover delays

In November, Scottish Ambulance Service chief Michael Dickson told the P&J “little meaningful progress” has been made to fix Aberdeen’s queues crisis.

He said ambulance crews on the frontline in the north-east were demoralised by the current state of affairs.

NHS Grampian has the lowest number of beds in Scotland relative to the number of people it serves and delayed discharges are having an impact.

• ARI ambulances could be turned away AGAIN as ‘factors causing trigger point become more common’

A Scottish Ambulance Service spokesman said extended hospital handover delays have an impact on crews, patients and the wider community.

“For crews whose focus is the patients these delays understandably cause frustration as they are unable to get back out on the road to treat others,” the service said.

“We continue to work with NHS Grampian to address their hospital handover delays and we remain thankful to all our staff who do an incredible job in very difficult circumstances.”

A Scottish Government spokesman said the safety and wellbeing of all NHS staff is of “paramount importance”.

He added: “The Scottish Ambulance Service provides its staff with access to a range of wellbeing support as part of its Employee Assistance Programme.

“The service continues to work in partnership with unions to minimise shift over-runs and to ensure staff receive the rest breaks they need. We will continue to monitor the progress of this work.”