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Careers in the ambulance service
This page introduces the ambulance service, outlining both emergency and non emergency work.
Introduction
The ambulance service has recently undergone a large number of changes. There has been a significant investment in the training and development of ambulance crews resulting in more effective patient care than ever before.Each year about one in twenty people in the United Kingdom will use the accident and emergency ambulance service. However responding to 999 calls makes up only 10% of the total number of ambulance service journeys, they are also involved in non emergency work through the patient transport service.
Emergency work
The accident and emergency service deals with emergency and urgent cases as well as the more complex non-emergency admissions, discharges and transfers. Typically emergency ambulance crews comprise an emergency care assistant and a paramedic and the vehicles themselves are designed to provide a clinical workplace with the maximum mobility.Ambulance crews are highly trained in all aspects of pre hospital emergency care ranging from crush injuries to cardiac arrest, whilst ambulances are equipped with a wide range of emergency care equipment such as heart defibrillators, oxygen, intravenous drips, spinal and traction splints and a variety of drugs for medical and traumatic emergencies.
Crews have to be highly skilled and able to treat and stabilise patients before movement to hospitals without unnecessary delay, they need to be quick thinking and decisive, yet able to provide a calm and reassuring environment for patients and relatives. Increasingly, ambulance staff will carry out and interpret more diagnostic tests and undertake basic procedures in the home. They will also be able to refer patients to social care services, directly admit patients to specialist units, and prescribe a wider range of medications.
The work of emergency care assistants and paramedics is varied and demanding, crews rarely know in advance the severity of the emergency to which they are responding, they can range between minor injuries to a road accident involving seriously injured casualties. Both emergency care assistants and paramedics are trained in advanced driving skills and may work within ambulances and air ambulances, or on motorcycles.
Paramedics can undertake extended training to become emergency care practitioners (ECPs). This enables them to provide greater assessment and examination techniques and to treat minor injuries and illnesses. ECPs are also trained in the management of long term conditions.
Non emergency work
The patient transport service (PTS) branch of the ambulance service transports a wide range of patients including:- out patients
- disablement service centre patients
- routine discharges and admissions
- geriatric and psycho geriatric day care
- non urgent inter hospital transfers
- those unable to attend hospital by any other means
The patient transport service uses specially designed vehicles (usually with tail lifts) to provide high levels of comfort for patients, whilst the attendant will travel with the patients so that they may relieve anxiety during the early stages of hospital admission. In some services a number of PTS crews are specially trained as high dependency teams which are available for patients with specific clinical needs during transport.
Both the emergency and patient transport services are supported by a number of support staff, with a range of responsibilities. These include emergency medical dispatchers/call handlers, and PTS call handlers control room staff, administrators and managers.
Further information
For more information about each role in the ambulance service, click hereYou should contact ambulance service trusts in the area where you want to work to find out about their particular requirements. Details of ambulance service trusts are available from the NHS Choices website. Ambulance service trusts in England and Wales advertise their vacancies on the NHS Jobs website.
The Ambulance Service Network represents ambulance services across the UK.
For details on other areas, you can contact:
Scottish Ambulance Service
National Headquarters
Tipperlinn Road
Edinburgh
EH10 5UU
Tel: 0131 446 7000
Fax: 0131 446 7001
Website: www.scottishambulance.com
Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Trust Headquarters
HM Stanley Hospital
St Asaph
Denbighshire
LL17 0WA
Tel: 01745 532 900
Fax: 01745 532 901
Website: www.was-tr.wales.nhs.uk
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service NHS Trust
Knockbracken Healthcare Park
Saintfield Road
Belfast
BT8 8SG
Tel: 028 9040 0999
Fax: 028 9040 0900
Website: www.niamb.co.uk
Applying for job vacancies
All ambulance service trusts in England and Wales advertise on the NHS Jobs website. You could also visit ambulance service trust websites directly and Jobcentre Plus.Please visit the NHS Choices for details of ambulance service trusts.
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