The London Ambulance Service (LAS) has revealed that its staff reported 462 incidents of sexual abuse in the 12 months from July 2025 to July 2026, with new recordings showing the explicit harassment faced by 999 call handlers and 111 health advisers.
Almost a third of the reports came from staff working in control rooms, who are subjected to sexual threats, groping, indecent exposure, explicit comments and sexual violence while trying to assist callers. The service said the true figure is likely to be higher because many incidents go unreported.
Call handlers describe shocking abuse
One 111 health adviser, Maiara, said she needed therapy after a caller performed a sexual act during an assessment. She said: "I hear sexual abuse over the phone quite often, especially during evening and night shifts. I once had a caller who appeared to be performing a sexual act during an assessment."
Maiara reported the call to her supervisor and later learned the caller had done the same to several other health advisers. "The call kept playing on my mind - it left me needing therapy," she added.
Another 111 health adviser said: "It shocked me. I was just trying to confirm the patient's details when he started sexually harassing me over the phone. It feels like these types of callers just want to abuse us, which prevents genuine patients from receiving the help they need."
Chief Executive condemns behaviour
Jason Killens KAM, Chief Executive of LAS, said: "Our call handlers and health advisers come to work to help people, yet some are left shocked and distressed by the sexual harassment they face. Nobody should be subjected to that while trying to establish whether someone needs urgent medical help."
Chief Paramedic Pauline Cranmer described the behaviour as a "shocking betrayal" and said the service "will not accept it, excuse it or allow offenders to believe they can target our people without consequence."
LAS has released a video featuring anonymised extracts from real calls, including a man telling a 999 call handler he hopes to kiss her before describing a sexual act, and a caller who continued to harass a 111 health adviser after receiving a verbal warning.
The service urged all staff to report instances of abuse so they can offer support and investigate, and said it will always work with police when an offence has been committed.
