London Ambulance Service staff report 462 sexual harassment incidents

London Ambulance Service (LAS) crews and call handlers reported 462 incidents of sexual harassment and abuse between June 2025 and July 2026. The reported incidents included sexual threats, groping, indecent exposure, explicit comments, and sexual violence.

Almost a third of these reports originated from call handlers who experienced sexual abuse from callers while assisting them over the telephone. The LAS has launched a campaign titled “We show up. Show some respect” in response to the scale of abuse faced by its staff.

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Abuse impacts emergency care

Jason Killens, chief executive of London Ambulance Service, stated that such behaviour disrupts emergency care and can remove ambulance crews from the road or call handlers from their stations. This, he warned, could delay help reaching other patients. He added that the service will work with the police to push for prosecution where a crime has been committed.

The campaign uses ambulance CCTV and body-worn camera footage to highlight the sexualised comments and inappropriate touching experienced by staff. Much of the abuse, described as too graphic to share, included swear words, explicit language, and threatening behaviour.

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Paramedic jailed for assault

In March 2026, a paramedic named Gosha Graf was assessing a patient when he was groped by the individual. The patient then refused further care. Graf later discovered through patient notes that the same individual had sexually assaulted another paramedic earlier that day, also after refusing treatment.

Graf reported the incidents to the police. The perpetrator was subsequently jailed for 18 weeks for sexual assault. Graf stated she endures sexist or sexualised comments most days while on duty and questioned why anyone should tolerate such behaviour simply for doing their job.

Staff survey findings

Pauline Cranmer, chief paramedic at LAS, noted that daily reports likely underestimate the true extent of abuse. She referenced the NHS Staff Survey, which found almost two-thirds of women working on ambulances experienced unwanted sexual behaviour from patients, service users, relatives, or the public in the twelve months prior. More than one in five frontline ambulance colleagues who reported unwanted sexual behaviour said it occurred at least three times during the year.

Cranmer added that responding to care with sexual abuse is a betrayal, and the service will not accept or excuse such behaviour, nor allow offenders to believe they can target staff without consequence.