Ambulance service staff survey shows continued improvement and rising staff confidence in 2025
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS) has recorded continued improvement in staff experience in the 2025 NHS Staff Survey, with progress seen across all nationally recognised NHS People Promise themes and growing confidence among staff in recommending the service both as a place to work and a place to receive care.
The survey, which received responses from more than 1,800 staff and achieved a 53 percent response rate, shows sustained year‑on‑year improvement, building on the positive direction of travel seen since 2022.
Kevin Scollay, Chief Executive of North East Ambulance Service, said: “These results show that progress is being made and that listening to our people really does make a difference. It is particularly encouraging to see growing confidence among staff in recommending NEAS both as a place to work and as a provider of care.
“We know the work is demanding and there is more to do — particularly around wellbeing, safety and work pressure — but the direction of travel is clear. We remain focused on listening, acting and continuing to improve our people’s experience at work, because that is fundamental to delivering high‑quality care for patients.”
Staff confidence and advocacy continue to rise
One of the clearest indicators of progress is the continued increase in staff advocacy.
More than half of staff (52.2 per cent) said they would recommend NEAS as a place to work, up from 47.4 per cent in 2024 and 37.9 per cent in 2021, placing the Trust above the national average for ambulance services.
Confidence in patient care has also strengthened, with 69.3 per cent of respondents saying they would be happy with the standard of care provided by NEAS if a friend or family member needed treatment - outperforming the rest of the country’s ambulance sector.
Improvements across all People Promise areas
The 2025 results show improvement across all seven NHS People Promise themes, including compassion and inclusion, safety and wellbeing, learning and development, teamworking and flexible working.
NEAS achieved its strongest score in “We are compassionate and inclusive”, which rose to 7.03 out of 10, as well as rising to 5.68 for “we are safe and healthy” out of 10, placing the Trust above the ambulance sector average and close to the highest‑scoring organisations nationally.
Further improvements were recorded in staff engagement, morale, team working, line management, staff voice, recognition and reward, and learning and development, with benchmarking data showing NEAS now performs above average in most headline measures compared with other ambulance trusts.
Engagement, morale and retention improving
Staff engagement and morale both improved again in 2025 and now sit above the ambulance sector average. Fewer staff reported thinking about leaving the organisation, suggesting improving confidence and stability within the workforce.
Acknowledging ongoing challenges
The survey also highlights areas where further work is needed. Despite performing the best in the ‘burnout’ sub-score compared to other ambulance Trusts, work pressure and burnout remain significant challenges, reflecting the sustained operational demands faced by ambulance services nationally. Incidents of violence from patients continue to be reported, and improving confidence and consistency in reporting remains a priority.
Work is already underway to address the issues raised, including initiatives focused on wellbeing, safety, culture, career development, flexible working and tackling inappropriate behaviour.