111 Health Advisor

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust; Crawley; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 30,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Free parking

Blue Light discounts

Staff networks

Training and development

Salary sacrifice

Enhanced DBS check

Job summary

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is recruiting for an NHS 111 Call Handler (Health Advisor) in Crawley. You will be the first point of contact for callers needing urgent advice or ambulance directions, using NHS Pathways to guide responses.

Role requires calm, empathetic individuals with excellent typing and communication skills, able to work a flexible shift including weekends and earlies/lates. Training provided.

Qualifications

• GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent) at Grade C or above.
• Strong communication skills and empathy when dealing with callers.
• Ability to stay calm and work under pressure in a 24/7 environment.

Responsibilities

• Take calls on NHS 111 and provide guidance to patients.
• Use NHS Pathways system to offer appropriate advice or direct to services.
• Maintain composure in stressful situations and document interactions.

Skills

Typing skills

Communication

Empathy

Teamwork

Education

GCSE Maths & English

Job description

Main area NHS, Health Advisor, 111, Team Leader, Contact Centre Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Part time

15 - 37.5 hours per week Job ref 278-111HAC-0209-CV

Employer South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust Employer type NHS Site Crawley HQ, 4 Gatwick Road, Nexus House Town Crawley Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum Salary period Yearly Closing 17/09/2026 23:59

Band 3

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has a vision to ‘support our staff to provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities’. We are rated ‘Good’ for care by the Care Quality Commission and while the other areas under their most recent report require improvement, our aim is to continually improve and to reach outstanding across all areas of the Trust.

Our 4,000+ workforce provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. We handle over 1 million calls to 999 and 1 million calls to NHS 111 every year. More information regarding our services and locations can be found on our website.

Job overview

111 Call Handler (Health Advisor) - Crawley

Join your local Ambulance Service! Your NHS needs YOU!

Our NHS 111 Call Handlers (Health Advisors) are people just like you: people who have come to us from all walks of life, from different backgrounds and age groups, people who all have the same things in common.

You are the first person our patients speak to when they call 111, it could be urgent and they may require an ambulance. Alternatively, they simply are in need of some advice and support from you.

The 111 service receive a huge variety of calls which means no two days are ever the same.

We offer excellent training and career development opportunities for ambitious employees both within the call centres and also opportunities to explore different roles within the wider Trust such as Human Resources and Administration and operational front-line roles, leading to a career as a Paramedic or in Senior Management.

What makes a great NHS 111 Call Handler (Health Advisor)?

• Our 111 Call Handlers are all caring and empathetic
• They all have great communication skills and love talking to people
• They're all happy and able to work flexibly
• They all love making a difference to people's lives

Main duties of the job

When you ring 111 or 999, your call goes through to a call handler based in one of our 3 Emergency Operation/Contact Centres. These staff are trained to use the NHS Pathways system to provide assistance in a variety of situations, from minor illness to life threatening situations. The assistance you will provide will range from offering lifesaving advice whilst an ambulance is on route, to directing callers to other more suitable services.

This role can be demanding, challenging and ultimately very rewarding however, it's not for everyone. Applicants will need to have a range of skills to be able to deal with often stressful and emotional situations, whilst also demonstrating compassion and empathy to all callers, no matter what the situation.

As we are a 24/7 service, this role will involve working a varied shift pattern including earlies, lates and weekends but due to our flexible working, we will work with you to create a rota that gives you a great work/life balance whilst meeting the needs of the trust.

Please note that it is a requirement to work 3 out of 4 weekends, even if you are applying for a part time position.Please give this consideration before making your application.

Working for our organisation

What we can offer you:

• Competitive salary of £25,760 - £27,476 with the earning potential of up to £30,000 per annum
• Any unsocial hours worked you will attract an enhancement in line with Section 2 Agenda for Change
• 35 days’ annual leave inclusive of Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Free parking
• Access to Blue Light discounts
• Staff networks
• Training and development
• Salary Sacrifice schemes for cars or push bikes
• Free Enhanced DBS check

Other than in exceptional circumstances, the starting salary for staff new to the NHS will be the bottom point of the band to which they have been appointed.

Training Provided

We will provide full training in a warm, friendly environment in our NHS 111 Call Centre.

• Training will be full-time (even for part-time applicants)
• Has a ‘must’ attend policy and no annual leave is permitted during this period
• Comprises of classroom, observing and mentoring periods within the working environment
• Designed to fully support full transition to call handling independently

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Successful applicants will demonstrate high levels of personal commitment to facilitate the delivery of a patient focused service.

We need individuals who have the drive and passion to make a difference to people’s lives, but also the personal resilience to work in a high-pressured environment.

You will need to be able to work well within a team and independently, have fast/accurate typing skills and a good standard of education. Successful candidates must possess GCSE Maths and English (or equivalent qualifications) at Grade C or above (2018 Grade 4).

This role is suited to people who remain calm under pressure, good at problem solving and have excellent interpersonal skills, with an empathetic nature.

Further Information

All successful applicants will be required to undertake anEnhanced DBS check for children and adults.