Paramedics are only one 999 call away from an experience that could change their lives forever. They can go from helping an elderly person with a fall to attending the scene of a catastrophic car crash. 66-85% of ambulance workers have been exposed to critical and traumatic events at work. They are making life and death decisions every day, working long shifts and lifting equipment and people. All of this can take a toll on mental and physical health.
At first glance you might question why ambulance staff need a dedicated charity. When we see them doing their work in real life or on TV, they are always professional, putting other people’s need first and doing their job with dedication. Their personalities shine through – they are real, down-to-earth people with great sense of humours. They are ordinary people doing an extraordinary job. They live and breathe helping people.
But when you think about the amount of stress and strain ambulance staff are under, it’s clear why we need a charity that’s dedicated to supporting them. That’s why TASC is so important, as the only independent body devoted to supporting ambulance staff. Whether it’s through psychological support and counselling (in fact, TASC doubled investment into its mental health services in 2018), physical rehabilitation or financial grants and advice, TASC takes a person-centred, holistic approach to helping the individual in front of them.
In a time when assaults on ambulance staff are rising year on year, more and more staff are reporting PTSD, and the number of ambulance phone calls is increasing, we need the public to get behind TASC more than ever. Show your support for ambulance staff doing a hard job.