The NHS has strengthened its emergency care workforce as it gears up for significant pressure this winter.
The number of call handlers have been boosted, with both 999 (8%) and 111 (5%) handlers up from last December. There are now around 2,600 people taking 999 calls and almost 4,650 NHS 111 handlers in place.
This is in addition to the more-than 1,700 new paramedic and ambulance support staff recruited between December 2022 and August 2023.
The bolstered workforce is helping tackle high demand, with this October seeing ambulance services experience their busiest month so far this year for category one and two callouts.
Overall, recruitment efforts have meant 1,417 more support staff working in emergency services now.
‘I was determined to keep pushing for my dream career as a paramedic.’
— NHS England (@NHSEngland) December 14, 2023
Joshua is a paramedic with @Ldn_Ambulance and is just one of the over 1,700 recently qualified paramedics and ambulance support staff responding to emergencies this winter. https://t.co/PMgTxwhAiU pic.twitter.com/Qr2HYLHUty
Health minister, Andrew Stephenson, said: “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.”
Significant staff pressures include the seasonal influx of winter viruses – particularly norovirus. Figures for the week ending 3 December show an extra 1,200 patients in hospital compared to the same time last year.
NHS England’s national medical director, Professor Sir Stephen Powis, said: “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.”
Image credit: iStock
