The chair of Staffordshire Police Federation says that he knows first-hand how important it is for officers to prioritise their wellbeing as he encourages members to sign up for the men’s health webinar.
The online event is being organised by the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) and takes place on Teams between 10am and 12.30pm on 16 November.
Registration for the event is now open, with Lee Robinson urging members - both male and female - to sign up.
“The truth of the matter is, we’re not OK all of the time, which is why attending this webinar is more important than ever,” said Lee, a sergeant who joined the Federation full-time as chair last year.
“As police officers - and especially us men - we put on this tough exterior. But I’ve been there - I’ve felt the pressure and recognised the job getting on top of me. At work, I would get increasingly stressed out and quite often would lose my temper. Then, when I got home, I would try to safeguard my wife from how I was feeling by bottling it up.”
Lee explained that his colleagues noticed a change in his behaviour, prompting them to sit him down, make him a cup of tea and ask him if he was OK.
“How I was behaving was so out of character for me,” he continued.
“Fortunately, I had a great support system around me and a fantastic line manager.
“My message to our members is to look out for each other - just like my colleagues did for me. And don’t just ask them if they are OK, ask them again. Asking just the one time isn’t always enough.
“It’s about time we started to look out for ourselves and one another. After all, we spend a lot of time with one another in the police - it’s often our colleagues who know us better than anyone.”
The men’s health event will be opened by PFEW’s Welsh co-lead Zac Mader, with speakers including the police service’s chief medical officer John Harrison and PFEW national board member Belinda Goodwin.
Nick Conn, chief executive officer at Help4Additiction, will also talk about his experience of being a serving police officer with an addiction, alongside Oswin Croft, from the charity Movember, who will discuss why men’s health is important all year round.
Members will be able to ask questions during the sessions, and the Q&As will be hosted by Mark Jones, North Wales Police Federation secretary, and Matt Slade, Essex Police Federation equality lead.
