HUNDREDS of police officers, firefighters and council workers have been signed off with stress-related illnesses.

The Daily Echo can reveal that 277 members of staff at Hampshire Constabulary were signed off due to stress-related illness in 2015/16, alongside 29 staff at the fire service.

And at Hampshire's councils the numbers of workers signed off due to stress-related illness rose at councils in Southampton, Eastleigh and the New Forest.

Members of the police federation say the figures show the "intolerable" pressure being placed on officers, while unions have blamed the increase at a councils on the impact of cuts.

Figures obtained by the Daily Echo following a Freedom of Information Act request show 7,864 days were missed by staff at Hampshire Constabulary in 2015/16 as a result of stress, with 277 officers and civilian staff signed off.

One member of staff was signed off for a total of 254 days as a result of stress or stress-related illness, with the figures including conditions such as anxiety and stress, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and work-related stress or depression.

The constabulary said figures for previous years were recorded in a different way and so could not be compared to those from 2015/16.

At Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service the number of members of staff signed off also rose, from 18 to 29, although the number of days missed as a result actually dropped from 610 to 522.

And the picture was mirrored at some of the region's councils, with Southampton recording a rise in the number of workers signed off from 207 in 2014/15 to 220 in 2015/16.

The housing department was the worst-hit last year, with 63 members of staff signed off for a total of 856 days, although the number of days missed at the council overall dropped from 5,592 to 3,935.

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In Eastleigh staff members off as a result of stress rose from one to 7, with the number of days missed rising from 70 to 187, while in the New Forest the numbers of workers signed off increased from 44 to 47.

Other councils, such as Fareham and Test Valley, saw a drop in the numbers of staff missing work, although Test Valley did see the number of days missed increase from 525 to 724.

Hampshire County Council did not provide figures as the "options listed as reason for sickness have changed a number of times during 2013-16", leaving the council unable to provide "consistent comparable data".

Reacting to the figures, Hampshire Police Federation John Apter said the pressure placed on officers in Hampshire was "intolerable".

He said the loss of almost 1,000 officers in the county had increased the demand on those left behind, but said that there is now more understanding of the impact of mental health illnesses.

He added: "Hampshire Constabulary has recently unveiled a wellbeing strategy which puts in place more effective support for these types of issues. This must be a genuine attempt to support officers and not just a tick box exercise.

"Police officers are not robots, they are human beings who despite their training are not immune from this hidden and destructive illness.

"More must be done to support them, much more."

Andy Straker, regional organiser for union UNISON in the South East, said he was not surprised at the rise in council workers being signed off.

He said: "I would suggest that most of this is because of the cuts from national Government, with the amount of money that has gone out of local government and with people worrying about either being made redundant or having to do a lot more work themselves.

"Management need to make sure people aren't being overworked."

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However Conservative Southampton Itchen MP Royston Smith said: "It is unfortunate that unions link illness with the necessary readjustment of local government finances.

"We should be helping people through their difficulties, not trying to play politics with them.

"Local government settlements over the next three years were far more generous than anyone predicted so the union's claims don't stack up in any event."

Deputy Chief Constable Sara Glen, from Hampshire Constabulary, said: "This is an important issue and one that we have a strategy to address.

"We can always do more and we are engaging with our staff, officers and representative groups around our plans to make sure that Hampshire Constabulary is a healthy and resilient organisation that continues to deliver a great service for the public."

A Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: β€œThe wellbeing of our staff is of the utmost importance and we do everything possible to help when they experience problems, to this end we have several support systems in place including the recently launched Trauma Risk Management programme (TRiM).”

A spokesman for Southampton City Council said the authority could not attribute the cause of the rise to one specific reason.

They said: "However, as we have instigated improved absence management reporting and recording and training support for managers, we would have anticipated an initial rise in the statistical data."

The spokesman added that the council ensured "all employees have adequate support from their line manager and the wider council" via a confidential helpline and other measures, adding: "Naturally the health and wellbeing of our staff is our number one priority to order for the organisation to function effectively.”

A spokesman for Eastleigh Borough Council said: "The council takes the welfare of its staff seriously and ensures it has mechanisms in place to support staff during any period of illness.

"This would depend on individual circumstances but includes a 24/7 employee assistance programme and staff trained in stress awareness."

In a statement, New Forest District Council said: "We manage our sickness proactively through day to day management from an early stage.

"We offer an independent, confidential employee support line which covers issues as diverse as emotional/personal, legal, financial, marital/family, work/career and drugs/alcohol telephone counselling and support, as well as face to face counselling where appropriate."