Home / Health / NHS 111 Staff Exodus: Almost Half Leave Amidst Burnout
NHS 111 Staff Exodus: Almost Half Leave Amidst Burnout
27 Mar
Summary
- Nearly half of NHS 111 staff in six services left in three years.
- Workload, shortages, and caller abuse cited as primary reasons for departure.
- Hundreds of thousands of days lost to ill health due to chronic staff shortages.
Staff operating NHS 111 calls are departing in substantial numbers, according to a union report. In the three years leading up to April 2026, almost half of the workforce across six ambulance services in England and Wales left their roles. Heavy workloads, persistent staff shortages, and abuse from callers have been identified as the primary reasons for these departures.
The service's impact on well-being is severe, with 300,000 days lost to ill health in these organizations during the same period. Yorkshire saw the highest staff turnover at 76% in the year to April 2026. A survey of over 200 staff confirmed that call volume, shortages, and aggressive callers are the worst challenges.
Meanwhile, England's resident doctors are set to strike for six days in April 2026, from 7 April to 13 April, due to an ongoing dispute over jobs and pay. The British Medical Association cited a lack of substantial progress in negotiations regarding pay restoration.
