LARGE numbers of NHS 111 call handlers are quitting due to abuse and staff shortages, Unison research showed today.

Almost half (46 per cent) left their jobs in the three years to April 2024, according to figures from six ambulance trusts in England and Wales.

The service in Yorkshire had the highest staff turnover — 76 per cent — followed by South East Coast at 62 per cent.

One call handler said: “During night shifts, we get a lot of mental health calls that we have no training for. 

“We’re not even provided with guidance for callers that express suicidal intent or who are having a severe mental health crisis. These calls are very challenging.”

Another 111 call handler said: “We get relentless calls every day. Everyone is exhausted, including the patients waiting ages to get through and whose care is massively delayed.”

A survey of more than 200 staff on the worst challenges of the job found 82 per cent said the volume of calls, three in four staff shortages and two in three aggressive and abusive callers.

Almost three-quarters polled also said that they had considered quitting in the past 12 months.

Unison said the snapshot of the system also revealed employee sickness is a significant concern, with 300,000 days lost to ill health at the six organisations from 2021 to 2024.

Its national ambulance officer Sharan Bandesha said that “staff are under immense pressure and it’s no surprise many don’t stay in the role. 

“Bringing 111 services back in-house, paying staff properly for their work and employing enough staff to alleviate pressure would help ensure NHS 111 is fit for the future.”