JALGO strives to increase the availability of psychiatric services for firefighters

Following Friday’s meeting, the Jamaica Association of Local Government Officers (JALGO) identified options to provide further assistance to firefighters struggling with mental health issues related to their work or personal lives.

This comes after the mental health crisis within the Jamaica Fire Brigade (JFB) was fully exposed on Monday when 35-year-old Shadane Gentles, a former firefighter, drove into the Half-way Tree Transport Center in St Andrew, threatening to commit suicide.

TO READ: Former firefighter who committed suicide, saved by former colleagues

Sergeant Leo Bennett, one of the firefighters who convinced Gentles to abandon his plans, later revealed that the former firefighter had been struggling with personal and professional problems, which had led him to recently resign from the fire service. Bennett pointed to JFB’s lack of support in dealing with his problems as one of the reasons why Gentles would be forced to attempt suicide.

TO READ: SEE: The sergeant claims that the lack of support from JFB led to the collapse of the former firefighter

According to JALGO secretary general Helene Davis-Whyte, this was the main topic of discussion during Friday’s meeting. She said the staff meeting was aimed at finding solutions to enable JFB members to receive much-needed support.

“We were able to get them to include psychiatric services in their health insurance policies. The only problem we have with the psychiatric service is that it is perceived by the insurer as a specialist, so you can’t just go to a psychiatrist’s office to get help, you have to refer it,” said a trade union activist.

“We are now looking to talk to a health insurer to see if psychiatric services could be treated in a similar way to gynecology services because although it is a specialist area, you could actually walk into a gynecologist’s office and your health insurance would cover your amount upfront and you wouldn’t have to wait for a refund after paying for the services. These are some of the things we do,” Davis-Whyte added.

Meanwhile, Davis-Whyte revealed that the JFB had a staff welfare position which became operational in the early 2000s, but the union felt it was not sufficient to adequately deal with the issues facing firefighters in this stressful job.

She said JALGO has since petitioned to expand the staff welfare position to a full department to ensure firefighters receive the help they need, but that has yet to come to fruition.

“When they were establishing the structure of the Jamaica Fire Service, we asked them to take a position on staff welfare, and we did get them to do so. However, once the unit became operational, we felt it was not enough – in fact it was just a one-man team – so we recommended expanding the unit into a full-fledged department that could serve firefighters across the island, which has not yet been achieved,” Davis-Whyte revealed.

She further stressed that JFB management failed to take urgent action, which could have further perpetuated the mental health crisis in the brigade. Davis-Whyte mentioned an issue that came up during Friday’s meeting in which an officer noticed another firefighter was in danger and reported it, hoping to evaluate the person because he believed he was suicidal. However, the officer said the issue was raised over a month ago and nothing had been done since then.

Davis-Whyte argued that to address the lack of urgency on the part of JFB management, a policy could be developed to provide a point of reference for senior officers when such cases occur.

“There is also no sense that members of management and at supervisory level really understand what is happening in terms of mental health. And mental health in the workplace is a real, real issue right now and they don’t seem to be taking it seriously enough. And this, in my opinion, is a serious issue that we will have to raise as trade unions when talking to the management, because this is the kind of information we receive,” said the JALGO secretary general.

She noted that it is a stressful time for firefighters, adding that in 2024 the brigade lost several people, some to natural causes, which took its toll on JFB members. Davis-Whyte said this is one of the reasons JALGO is working to ensure ease of access to counseling, including mental health services.