SAPS staff are 11 times more likely to commit suicide than the average citizen and five times more likely to commit suicide compared with international police suicide rates, while teachers as well as healthcare workers are dealing with increasingly high levels of stress yet have no resources to assist them, say union spokespeople.
SA ranks among the highest in terms of violent crime in the world, and this, as well as other pressing human tragedies, competed for police attention, said South African Police Union (Sapu) spokesperson Lesiba Thobakgale, adding that they were concerned at the lack of mental health support for officers.
“Members suffer from incredible stress because of the nature of their job as they attend crime scenes which are very often traumatic, and yet they don't get debriefed thereafter,” he said.
Teacher unions also say that mental health should be made a priority in their field, given the stress levels of their members.
The Star reports South African Democratic Teachers Union general secretary Mugwena Maluleke as saying there were no official records of who was on stress leave or had been admitted to rehab to conquer their addictions.
He said in general, many teachers took long leave to deal with mental health challenges, but this was not documented for confidentiality reasons.
Basil Manuel from the National Professional Teachers Organisation of South Africa said teachers were under huge stress, and there were no reliable support systems to help them. Violence at schools, large classes with up to 60 pupils in some cases, and the ramifications of COVID-19, were among the issues being dealt with by teachers on a daily basis.
Democratic Nursing Organisation of South Africa spokesperson Sibongiseni Delihlazo said they had raised the issue of mental health among their members as a matter of urgency with the government. Health facilities were severely understaffed, he said, and many healthcare professionals, not just nurses, had left the profession, especially at the height of COVID.
“They are overburdened and have no time to recharge. Many leave applications by nurses during COVID-19 were declined on the basis that there was not enough staff.” He said they had not received any support from the government.
“Healthcare workers were exceptionally depressed because they were losing patients left, right and centre, which took a huge toll on them, and the psychological effects of this are huge.”
Previously, there had been support structures at government facilities, but these no longer existed.
“There used to be psychologists who were on standby at healthcare facilities and whenever staff experienced challenging times, the psychologists would be there to debrief them and assist.”
Delihlazo said only the Steve Biko Hospital in Pretoria had beefed up its psychological support during this time.
Department of Public Service & Administration spokesperson Moses Mushi said most departments had employee health and wellness programmes.
Some departments had internal professionals who provided counselling to staff, while outsourced external service providers usually had a network of professionals to help employees with mental health issues.
The Star PressReader article – Public servants in grip of despair (Open access)
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