Workforce prioritisation guidance: Trauma

Many roles in policing carry a risk of physical injury, but it is equally important to recognise the psychological risks arising from repeated exposure to distressing or disturbing events. Such experiences can lead to significant harm or clinical illness if not properly managed. 

Risk management for psychological health must therefore be treated with the same seriousness and structure as that for physical safety. 

Trauma risk management should be proactive, system-wide, and embedded in everyday leadership and supervision. It cannot be limited to reactive responses after major incidents. This means acknowledging trauma exposure across all public-facing roles - not only those traditionally viewed as “high risk” and recognising that leaders themselves are exposed to secondary trauma and moral strain. 

Under health and safety legislation, forces have a legal duty to assess and manage all workplace risks, including those affecting psychological health. This requires systematic identification of potential sources of harm, application of control measures, and ongoing monitoring to ensure effectiveness. 

Psychological health surveillance forms part of this approach. It supports early identification of adverse impact, enabling forces to mitigate and manage risk before ill health develops. 

The primary clinical treatment of mental ill health rests with the NHS. However, police forces retain responsibility for managing occupational risk arising from trauma exposure - identifying where harm has occurred, preventing further exposure, and ensuring individuals are supported and referred for appropriate clinical care. Occupational Health teams play a key role in linking with GPs and NHS talking therapies, helping to secure timely access to evidence-based treatment. 

While the Chief Medical Officer continues to strengthen NHS access for policing, many forces have commissioned additional specialist trauma services to reduce delays and support faster recovery where NHS capacity is limited. 

Why it matters

When trauma risk is not properly assessed, managed, or monitored, the consequences can be long-term and wide-ranging - affecting individual wellbeing, operational performance, and organisational reputation. Absence, disengagement, and attrition often follow unmanaged exposure, alongside increased risk of misconduct and critical decision errors. 

A psychologically safe workplace is one in which people trust that their wellbeing is actively protected through good risk management, not just reactive care. That requires leadership commitment, clinical insight, and governance processes that ensure psychological health risks are identified, controlled, and reviewed with the same rigour as physical hazards. 

Trauma support is not optional or peripheral - it is central to workforce sustainability, operational readiness, and long-term retention.