Call handler resignations rise amid trauma and stress

The report stated: “Relentless exposure to traumatic and increasingly complex incidents, verbal abuse, long shifts and low pay are contributing to stress, burnout and fatigue.”

Christina McAnea, Unison general secretary, said: “These findings paint a bleak picture of the conditions faced by 999 control room staff.

“TV programmes about ambulance services don’t show things as they really are.”

Call handlers took an average of 33 sick days per year between 2021/22 and 2024/25, according to data obtained by Unison—well above the UK average of four days.

The union’s report found the role has become increasingly challenging, with demand for care rising during Covid and remaining high since, while ambulance handover delays at hospitals have worsened.

Control room staff in England, Scotland and Wales answered more than 700,000 calls in March—more than 22,000 each day.

One call handler told Unison: “Some shifts are overwhelmingly traumatic, with 90 per cent of the calls of a distressing nature. One shift, I handled three road traffic accidents and two cardiac arrests.”

“There’s a persistent pressure to remain on the phone, no matter how emotionally drained we are.”

Another said they had dealt with four separate suicide-related calls in the same shift.

Several call handlers cited a lack of support for dealing with the emotional and psychological impact of their work as a key reason for leaving.

Data from 11 of the UK’s 13 NHS regional ambulance services showed that some call handlers had taken several months off due to stress or trauma.

South East Coast ambulance service (Secamb) reported that 80 per cent of its call handlers left during 2023/24 and also recorded the highest average sick leave—54 days per person.

NHS England said call handlers play a vital role in urgent and emergency care and acknowledged that more needs to be done to support them.

A spokesperson said: “We know there is more to do and the health service is committed to tackling burnout by continuing to offer more flexible working options.”