Prison staff at HMP Edinburgh took almost 7000 sick days in a record year for sick leave, with officials saying Scotland’s prison services face a “ticking time bomb”.
Staff at HMP Edinburgh, known locally as Saughton Prison , took 6934 total sick days in 2024.
The numbers come as sick day numbers surged for prisons across Scotland with 9125 at the Barlinnie in Glasgow and 8459 at Glenochil within the first 10 months of the year, reports the Record.
From January through October 2024, more than 65,000 working days were lost due to illness with staff “tired and broken”.
Phil Fairlie, assistant general secretary of the Prison Officers Association, said: “Next to mental health issues, the next most significant reason for staff absence is musculoskeletal -injuries, in an ageing, overworked and overtired workforce.
“They have been patrolling the galleries, breaking up fights, taking punches and kicks and running up and down stairs in response to alarms for decades.
“They are tired and some are broken. To expect prison officers to operate in that environment well into their 60s is madness and the government needs to address this.
“It is a ticking time bomb for our prisons and a genuine risk to the prisons’ ability to continue to function effectively.”
In the first 10 months of 2024 there were 65,719 working days lost to sickness among Scottish Prison Service’s (SPS) 4900 staff.
This represents a nearly 20,000 absence rise since 2015, where 47,152 absences were recorded. Last year’s total to October exceeds the 62,033 sick days in 2020 during the pandemic and is on course to pass the 71,364 lost in 2023.
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Fairlie added: “Our members are working in overcrowded, volatile and challenging circumstances over a prolonged period of time and it is taking its toll. The overcrowding and increase in violence is clearly a factor but it is only a part of the story.
“Ironically, with such high sick numbers we are dependent on more and more staff working longer hours and doing significant amounts of overtime, just to keep the prisons functioning.”
Scottish Labour justice spokesperson Pauline McNeill MSP said: “The SNP government must act now to protect public safety and ensure staff receive the adequate support needed for people in these vital roles.”
Scottish Conservative justice spokesperson Liam Kerr added: “The more staff who are absent or forced to leave, the worse things will get for those left to pick up the pieces.”
An SPS spokesperson said: “While our staff numbers have increased, particularly with the transition of HMP Kilmarnock into SPS control in March 2024, we recognise the impact of absence and seek to support those individuals, their colleagues, and wider – establishments.
“In September, last year, we signed up to NHS Lothian’s Lifelines Scotland project, a dedicated service to promote wellbeing and resilience among emergency responders, in addition to supporting staff through our employee assistance programme and occupational health.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson added: “We recognise the importance of providing a safe environment for staff who work in our prisons, which can be a difficult and intensive environment.”
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