Ambulance staff leaving up by a half to almost 7,000 last year

21 Aug 2023

EMBARGO: 22:30 Monday 21st August

The number of staff leaving England’s ambulance services annually has increased by 51.2% since 2019
In 2022/23, 6,968 ambulance service staff left compared to 4,609 in 2019/20
Currently there are nearly 3,000 vacancies in England’s ambulance services

Ambulance services have experienced a mass exodus of staff in the last year, with a staggering 51.2% increase in the number of leavers compared to 2019 levels, a Liberal Democrat FOI has revealed.

The research from the Liberal Democrats has shown that in 2019/20 the number of people who left ambulance services was 4,609. That has sky-rocketed in the years since, with 2022/23 seeing 6,968 members of staff walking out of the door. That is an increase of 51.2% in leavers.

Staff Turnover rates have also experienced similar increases. West Midlands ambulance service lost more than 1,000 members of staff in the last year with a turnover rate of 14%, increasing from 9.41% in 2019/20. South Central ambulance service and South East Coast ambulance service lost 927 and 802 staff in the last year respectively, at turnover rates of 21% and 18%.

Currently, there are 2,954 vacancies across all ambulance services in England.

Yorkshire ambulance service has the highest vacancy rate with over 17% of positions unfilled with a shortfall of 1,157 staff. South Central ambulance service has a staff shortage of 869 giving it a vacancy rate of 16%.

The Liberal Democrats are calling for the Government to investigate the shocking rise in paramedics leaving the ambulance service as well as launch a drive to retain, recruit and train paramedics and other ambulance service staff to fill the gaps.

Commenting, Liberal Democrat Health and Social Care Spokesperson Daisy Cooper MP said:

“This Conservative government has run our health services into the ground and these figures show that paramedics are voting with their feet.

“With patients struggling to see a GP at the front door of the NHS and unable to access social care at the back door of the NHS, ambulance crews are unfairly caught between a rock and a hard place, picking up the slack from a health and care system that is broken at both ends.

“Patients who struggle to access the care they need, when they need it, are then left waiting for emergency assistance in pain and distress for an ambulance. The shortage of NHS staff has caused untold pain for millions of people across the country, especially those left to wait for hours in pain for an ambulance to arrive.

“Paramedics perform heroics every day, but the pressures of a broken system are piling up. With warnings that the government is unprepared for the next winter crisis, ambulance services need help now.

“The Government must begin an urgent recruitment drive before winter begins and our ambulance services are yet again put under unsustainable strain. There is no time to waste.”

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The FOI data from the ambulance trusts which responded can be found here.

Relevant notes from Ambulance Services

Yorkshire Ambulance trust said that they fill a high proportion of their vacancies with overtime, bank and agency staff, hence posts. The Trust has also had additional funding for new clinical posts, which are included in this figure.

Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust report vacancy statistics to the Welsh Government on a quarterly basis. The latest figures were reported in July 2023 and provide data for 31st March 2023.

East Midlands Ambulance Service said as at month 3, the Trust has 50.85 WTE (Working Time Equivalent) vacancies. This equates to 1.31% of funded levels.

North East Ambulance Service said as of 30 June 2023, the Trust reported 170.81 WTE vacancies which is 5.53% of staff posts that are unfilled.

Isle of Wight NHS Trust said: Unfilled vacancies = Funded less inpost = 22.17FTE Proportion of total staff posts unfilled = Vacancy % = 8%