DISTRESSED NHS call handlers are so worried about long ambulance waits that they regularly ask: “How many people are we going to kill today?” patient safety investigators revealed today.

The Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch asked employees working in urgent and emergency care, including A&E, NHS 111 call handling centres and ambulance services, for their experiences.

Its report concluded there is a strong link between patient safety and worker wellbeing, saying: “While staff are trying their very best to ensure safe care, harm is happening and this is affecting patient outcomes and staff wellbeing.”

Investigators noted that workers “at all levels” face massive challenges, with “many crying or displaying other extreme emotions as they described their working environment and the burden of moral distress.”

Emergency call handlers reported cases of hearing a patient’s condition deteriorating but being unable to respond.

“Dispatchers told the investigation that it was common to worry about ‘how many people are we going to kill today?’ due to their frustration and sadness at not being able to send ambulances to patients,” the study added.

The workforce, NHS bosses and campaigners have repeatedly warned that the failing social care system is clogging up hospitals, delaying ambulances from offloading patients and answering other calls.