Ambulance Care Assistant / Patient Transport Crew

Wheelin; Wales; On-site; GBP 10,000 - 40,000; Part time

Job summary

A local patient transport service in Wales seeks a Patient Transport Service Crew member to provide care and transportation to vulnerable individuals. This rewarding position involves safely transporting patients, assisting with mobility, and ensuring comfort and dignity during journeys. Key qualifications include a clean driving license, time-management skills, and empathy. The role also requires flexibility for early morning starts and weekend work. Competitive pay and inclusive work environment are offered.

Benefits

Competitive hourly pay rates

Paid holiday entitlement

Company workwear provided

Qualifications

• Must be over 25 and under 70 years of age due to insurance requirements.
• Full clean driving license held for at least 2 years.
• Digital literacy in mobile apps like Google Maps.

Responsibilities

• Safely transporting patients to and from hospitals.
• Assisting patients in and out of vehicles.
• Updating Personal Digital Assistant with trip info.

Skills

Empathy

Time-management

Communication

Digital literacy

Interpersonal skills

Job description

This position will be a zero hours contract and we predict a minimum 25 hours per week. We'd like all applicants to be aware that this role will involve working on early morning weekday shifts (05.15am starts) as well as working one weekend per month (Saturday and Sunday).

Who we are

Operating throughout South Wales, Wheelin provides a wheelchair accessible non emergency patient transport service (NEPTS) on both a private ambulance basis, as well as in partnership with the Welsh Ambulance Service Trust. We provide patient transport services for patients who require non-emergency transport to and from hospital and who are unable to travel unaided because of their medical condition, mobility or clinical need.

Job opportunity

In this role, you'll work as a two-person team or individually. As a crew member, you'll drive our specially-equipped vehicles.

We are looking for candidates who can deliver a high standard of professionalism and compassion while providing a Patient Transport Service to meet the needs of patients. You’ll carry out non-urgent and non-critical, planned patient journeys, transporting a number of passengers at a time in one of our wheelchair accessible company vehicles. You’ll be providing transport to a wide variety of patients with different conditions, mobilities and needs, and our passengers will require different levels of assistance.

The successful candidate will join our team in delivering a Non Emergency Patient Transport service (NEPTS) in the Swansea Bay and Hywel Dda health board areas; it's possible you'll be working in other health board areas also. In this role, you’ll be safely transporting disabled, elderly, sick or vulnerable individuals to and from designated treatment centres and clinics. As such, this is a role that goes beyond driving because you’ll be responsible for the wellbeing of your passengers, many of whom are in fragile health. You’ll provide, where necessary, appropriate care and assistance which will be within your level of training and competence.

In this role, you must be ready to support patients with empathy, care and dignity, ensuring that their journey is safe and as comfortable as possible. You’ll assist patients in and out of the vehicle, making sure they are safely secured and providing any required support and care before, during and after the journey. Punctuality is crucial so that patients arrive on time for their appointments and clinics. Your passengers may be anxious about their hospital visits and some may lead isolated lives, making your calm and reassuring demeanour and active listening skills invaluable. Over time, you’ll often develop a rapport with regular passengers.

We value relevant experience, particularly with elderly, vulnerable or disabled individuals, whether in paid or voluntary roles. Previous experience in professional driving is also valued.

The role

Being a Patient Transport Service Crew member is without doubt a rewarding and fulfilling role. You’ll be helping vulnerable patients in need, making a real difference to their lives. This role can, at times, be a demanding one. However, the rewards in terms of satisfaction and personal achievement are without comparison.

Your main duties will be as follows:

• Safely transporting patients to and from hospitals, including wheelchair users and patients with mobility challenges. This may include supporting unsteady patients or the manoeuvring and securing of wheelchairs.
• Assisting patients in and out of our vehicles, ensuring their comfort, dignity and safety.
• Assessing patients' readiness and ability to travel and monitoring their condition during transport.
• Ensuring appropriate patient handling and infection control.
• Updating PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) with information on trips and patient interactions.
• Coordinating with family/friends and healthcare professionals to ensure seamless patient transfers and handovers.
• Ensuring that the vehicle is safe, clean and properly maintained, reporting any issues promptly.

Applicants for this post must:

• Be over 25 and under 70 years of age (due to our insurance requirements).
• Have a full, clean driving licence held for at least 2 years (minimum Category B Licence)
• Not have been convicted of any serious driving offences.
• Have digital literacy in terms of the use of mobile phones and apps (e.g. Google Maps, WhatsApp and What3words).
• Have a good standard of written and spoken English and good numeracy skills.
• Have excellent time-management skills.
• Be available to work on shift patterns, including early starts, weekends and bank holidays.
• Undergo an Enhanced Disclosure check.
• Be locally based and within travel distance of our Pembrey & Burry Port base.
• Be able to get to and from our base independently, without relying on public transport (which will not be available at all times).

We will support you with developing the necessary knowledge and skills to ensure that the particular needs of all patients are met. You’ll work under the guidance of an experienced, senior crew member before operating independently. This will include on the job training, shadowing an experienced crew member as well as formal, accredited training.

Benefits

• Competitive hourly pay rates which exceed the Real Living Wage.
• We are committed Equal Opportunities Employers. Diversity, equity and inclusion are very important to us and we need to be ourselves. We want you to ‘come as you are’, and make sure that other people can do it, too.
• Paid holiday entitlement.
• Company workwear provided.

Please apply by sending in your CV and a brief cover letter. You can email Gill at: [e-mail] if you have any questions or would like further info on the post.