More paramedics and call handlers

New staff have joined the emergency care workforce ahead of winter – including as paramedics and call handlers – with warnings of significant pressure due to winter viruses over the next few months. There are now 2,600 handlers taking 999 calls, up from 2,400 last December. Figures for October showed 999 received the highest number of calls than any month this year so far, with an average call answer time of nine seconds – five times faster than the average of 50 seconds last October.