Hundreds of staff join emergency care workforce ahead of winter

The NHS emergency care workforce has been boosted ahead of winter with hundreds of new staff staff including paramedics and call handlers.

The announcement comes amidst warnings of significant pressure due to winter viruses over the next few months.

The numbers of both 999 and 111 call handlers are up on last December (8 per cent and 5 per cent respectively).

There are now 2,600 handlers taking 999 calls, up from 2,400 last December.

October received the highest number of 999 calls of any month this year. There was an average call answer time of nine seconds - five times faster than the average of 50 seconds last October.

The NHS 111 service now has 4,645 call handlers in place, up 207 (4.7%) on last December.

In the week ending 3 Dec, the NHS 111 service answered almost twice the proportion of calls within a minute (from 36% to 67%) as the same week last year.

The NHS also recruited more than 1,700 additional paramedics and ambulance support staff between December 2022 and August 2023.

NHS national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “It is hugely welcome news that we have been able to recruit hundreds more emergency staff ahead of this winter, with over 1,700 more ambulance staff and significant increases in the number of 111 and 999 call handlers to help deal with record demand for services as we head into the busier winter months.

“The latest figures show hospitals are already under considerable strain, with over 95,000 beds occupied and hundreds of patients admitted with viruses, which is why it is so important we have more colleagues with their shoulder to the wheel to help treat as many patients as possible, as quickly as possible.

“Earlier this year we published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which aims to retain and train many more staff, and a career in the NHS, particularly working on the frontline and saving lives in our urgent and emergency care teams, is incredibly rewarding so if you are interested in joining you can find out more on our NHS careers website.”

Health minister, Andrew Stephenson, said: “These hundreds of extra paramedics, call handlers and other emergency care staff are a vital boost to the NHS ahead of the busiest months. Alongside our Long Term Workforce Plan, we are building an NHS fit for the future.

“This is part of our robust winter plans which have already resulted in more ambulances on the roads, extra beds and the nationwide rollout of more than 10,000 virtual ward beds to treat people in the comfort of their own homes and reduce pressure on hospitals.”