80% increase in ambulance staff leaving

THE number of staff leaving their jobs in ambulance services has soared by 80 per cent in the past eight years.

More than 33,000 workers in England have moved on from their posts since 2010, raising concerns that patients may have to wait longer in emergencies.

New figures now show the number leaving NHS ambulance trusts hit 4,875 in 2017-18. That is a rise of 80 per cent from the 2,704 who left in 2010-11. The largest number, 5,002, left in 2016-17.

The figures, obtained by the Labour Party, are not just for paramedics and take into account retirements and staff transferring between trusts.

Ambulance crews are on the frontline of the NHS and a third have been victims of violence in the past year. Meanwhile, a recruitment crisis has left a workforce shortage of almost 1,000 staff last year.

Shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: ‘Workforce shortages place huge pressures on ambulance services and it’s patients who too often are left stranded waiting longer and longer for an ambulance to arrive.’

Health minister Stephen Hammond said: ‘Once again, Labour shows it can’t do basic maths – paramedic numbers are up 40 per cent and there are 3,800 more ambulance staff working in the NHS than there were in 2010.’