‘Appalling treatment of prison officers’

Mr Beattie, the Ulster Unionist’s justice spokesperson, said that more than 60% of the written warnings have been issued to prison staff, despite the NI Prison Service making up only one third of all those who work for the Department of Justice.

He said he believed many prison officers are under pressure to continue working in a highly stressful environment even when they are suffering from mental health difficulties, including PTSD.

“This is appalling treatment of those with a mental health illness within our prison service,” he said.

“These are individuals who do an incredibly stressful and dangerous role in order to keep us safe. They do this with little recognition but the effects on them and their families are immense and must be taken into account.”

Mr Beattie said that of the 345 written warnings handed out to civil servants within the DoJ over the last three years, a total of 205 were given to NI Prison Service staff.

He added: “It is clear to me, if not to those who make and implement policy, that prison officers are being forced to continue to work even when suffering mental health issues for fear of disciplinary action.

“This cannot continue and it is time for an independent look at mental health within the prison service with a view to understanding it better and removing the threat of disciplinary action if someone is suffering a mental health illness and needs to take time off.”

In February this year, Mr Beattie described the NI Prison Service as “a highly stressful and dangerous occupation, both inside and outside of the workplace,” and added: “Issues surrounding the mental health of prison officers are important and steps must be taken to assist with the welfare of the officers within the NIPS – this includes keeping records of those discharged with PTSD so the scale of the issue is known.”

Responding to Mr Beattie’s comments on Sunday, a Department of Justice spokeswoman said: “The Justice Minister greatly values the work undertaken by the NI Prison Service and since taking up the portfolio has taken an active interest in the health and wellbeing of prison officers. Earlier this year the Justice Minister announced a review of services for former staff and that work continues.

“Prison staff deliver excellent work on behalf of our community, and their welfare is paramount. While the management of absence from work is sensitive and challenging, this is done on an individual case by case basis and there are a range of support services in place as part of our prisons well programme, which includes mental health resilience training.”

The spokeswoman added: “There is also a well-established partnership with the Police Rehabilitation and Retraining Trust to support officers on long-term sickness absence with mental health issues.

“Following consultation with the Justice Minister, the Director General of the NI Prison Service has this afternoon written to Mr Beattie to invite him to discuss the issues he has raised, including allegations of discrimination.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Finance said that the “mental health of all staff is taken very seriously.”

She said: “A range of support services are available including a welfare service, a 24-hour counselling service, and an early intervention approach to managing stress.

“When a written warning is issued for absence this is done in line with the NICS Sickness Absence Inefficiency Policy. When a warning is issued every individual has the right of appeal to an appointed Appeal Officer who was not previously involved with the decision to issue the warning.”

The spokeswoman added: “New medical or other relevant evidence may be presented at appeal, following which a decision is made by the Appeal Officer.”