Tens of thousands of ambulance workers quit since 2010

New figures uncovered by the Labour Party have shown that tens of thousands of ambulance workers have quit since the Conservatives came to power in 2010.

An analysis of NHS Digital, Provisional NHS Hospital & Community Health Service monthly workforce statistics shows that the total annual number of staff leaving NHS ambulance trusts soared by 80 per cent between 2010/11 and 2017/18, with Labour claiming that 33,141 paramedics, technicians and office staff have walked away since October 2010.

In 2010/11, some 2,704 workers left NHS ambulance trusts. That number climbed every year until reaching its peak of 5,0002 in 2016/17, before falling back slightly to 4,875 in 2017/18.

Since October 2010, 4,097 staff have left the London Ambulance Service, which is the highest for any ambulance service. The next highest was South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust with 3,735, followed by North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust with 3,639.

Health Minister Stephen Hammond maintained that overall paramedic numbers were up by 40 per cent and ‘there are 3,800 more ambulance staff working in the NHS than there were in 2010’.

Shadow Health Secretary Jon Ashworth said: “Yet again this is more evidence of the retention and recruitment crisis afflicting our NHS after nine, hard years of Tory mismanagement and cuts. Workforce shortages place huge pressures on ambulance services and its patients who too often are left stranded waiting longer and longer for an ambulance to arrive.”