'Stressed' ambulance workers call for urgent funding at Harrogate demonstration

Paramedics say urgent funding is needed to reduce the pressure that is forcing many to leave the profession.

Ambulance workers demonstrated in Harrogate on Sunday, calling for more paramedics to be recruited to meet demand.

Ambulance calls in England have increased by almost six million in the past decade, according to new research.

The Department of Health and Social Care said £150m of additional funding has been allocated to the NHS to deal with the pressure.

Paul Turner, a paramedic and a national committee member representing paramedics across the country, was at the demonstration, and said it wasn't enough to employ permanent staff.

He said: "We are now struggling for the demand versus the resources that we've got, this is to do with the lack of funding, and proper funding, the government say they're constantly throwing billions to the NHS but that funding isn't recurrent."

"We can't employ staff because the ambulance service don't know whether or not that funding will come again in the years to come. And then who pays the wages of those clinicians, call centra staff or support staff?"

The GMB union said there were 7.9m call-outs in the 2009/10 financial year, rising to 14m in 2021/22.

More than 1,000 ambulance workers have left their jobs since 2018 to seek a better work-life balance, more pay, or to take early retirement.

GMB national officer Rachel Harrison, from Sheffield, said: "Ambulance workers have faced more than a decade of cuts while demand has almost doubled."

"It's no wonder they are leaving in droves while the service itself is teetering on the brink of collapse. Members tell us the pressures they face are the worst they have ever experienced."

"We need urgent investment across the health and care services, otherwise risk an unprecedented crisis."

A government spokesperson said there are a record number of healthcare staff working in the NHS.

"We recognise the pressure NHS staff are under, especially those on the frontline in the ambulance service, and we continue to thank them for their dedicated hard work.

"We are tackling the Covid backlog by setting up surgical hubs and community diagnostic centres – over 90 of which are open and have delivered over one million additional checks. There are record numbers of nurses, doctors and staff overall working in the NHS, helping to put it in the strongest possible position to rebuild from the pandemic."