Emergency Health Advisor (Previously 999 Call Handler) | Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust; York and North Yorkshire, Wakefield; On-site; GBP 22,000 - 28,000; Full time

Job summary

A regional healthcare service is seeking Emergency Health Advisors to answer emergency and non-emergency calls within their operations center. This role involves providing critical support to patients when they need it most. Flexible working hours and full training are provided. The ideal candidate will have strong customer service skills and the ability to manage stressful situations effectively.

Benefits

Flexible working hours

27 days annual leave, increasing to 33 with service

NHS Discounts

Dedicated employee assistance services

Qualifications

• Minimum 5 GCSEs including English Language or equivalent experience.
• Prior customer service or admin experience preferred.

Responsibilities

• Answer Emergency and Non-Emergency calls.
• Provide appropriate advice until ambulance arrives.
• Inform Police, Fire, and other agencies about incidents.

Skills

Customer service

Communication

Empathy

Problem-solving

Education

5 GCSEs at grade C or above including English Language

NVQ Level 3 in a relevant subject

Job description

Overview

Yorkshire Ambulance Service are currently looking for Emergency Health Advisors (EHA) (Previously 999 Call Handlers), full-time and part-time shift working is available.

The unsocial hours are:

• Saturday: midnight to midnight and any weekday after 8pm and before 6am
• All time on Sundays and Public holidays: midnight to midnight

Full-time and part-time hours with flexible working options available.

Help us to save lives and deliver the best outcomes for patients in emergency and non-emergency situations with a career in the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

Working for us is an experience like no other; it is a great privilege to play a part in saving and changing lives. You could be walking somebody through CPR to help to save a life or you could be helping to bring new life into the world.

You can make an invaluable difference every day to patients by providing help and support to people at their time of need.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust are now recruiting 999 Call Handlers in our Emergency (999) Operations Centres based in Wakefield and York.

Full training will be provided.

Role and Responsibilities

As an Emergency Health Advisor (EHA), your role is to answer Emergency and Non-Emergency calls within our Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). This could include:

• Taking Emergency Calls from members of the public and giving the appropriate advice to care for the patient until the ambulance arrives on scene.
• Taking emergency calls from the Police and Fire Services.
• Taking emergency and non-emergency bookings from Health Care Professionals (HCPs), Nurses and Hospitals for patient transfers.
• Informing Police, Fire and other agencies about incidents.
• Assisting ambulance crews and dispatchers with information and directions as and when necessary, e.g. during a major incident.

The attached exemplar rotation includes a mixture of working unsociable hours, weekends, bank holidays and the Christmas/New Year period.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service (YAS) NHS Trust geographical covers nearly 6,000 square miles of varied terrain, from isolated moors and dales to urban areas, coastline and inner cities.

We serve a population of over five million people across Yorkshire and the Humber and strive to ensure that patients receive the right response to their care needs as quickly as possible, wherever they live.

We employ more than 7,100 staff, who together with over 1,300 volunteers, enable us to provide a vital 24-hour, seven-days-a-week, emergency and healthcare service.

Our ambition is to be an employer of choice, and we are continuously working across our partnership to improve our collective offer to staff in areas like health and wellbeing, benefits and flexible working including hybrid working.

Benefits

• Flexible working including part-time hours, job shares and flexible hours, agile working (role dependent)
• 27 days annual leave, increasing to 33 with service
• Contributory Pension
• NHS Discounts including shops, restaurants, gyms etc.
• Car lease and other salary sacrifice schemes.
• Dedicated employee assistance and counselling service.
• Opportunities for research participation, career progression and ongoing development.
• Well respected, committed and supported staff networks for our workforce.

Check out our YAS One Team Simulation: https://www.nwyhelearning.nhs.uk/elearning/yorksandhumber/yas/yasoneteam/index.html

Qualifications and Experience

As a minimum, you must have 5 GCSEs at grade C or above including English Language or an NVQ Level 3 in a relevant subject. If you do not have these but have vast experience in customer service/admin roles we would also like to hear from you.

When writing your supporting information, please refer to the Person Specification and include specific examples of times where you have demonstrated the skills required for this role.

Training and Employment Start

You will commence your role on a paid training contract and upon successful completion of your training, you will be issued a permanent contract.

The training programme is 11 weeks in length and consists of classroom training and mentorship in the Emergency Operations Centre.

Initially, the classroom training is 6 weeks full-time which requires 100% attendance, after which a mentorship period of approximately 150 hours (4 weeks) will follow. Any absences during the first 6 weeks may result in the conditional offer of employment being withdrawn.

Staff will return to complete 3 days of classroom training in week 11 of their employment. Staff are required to be flexible with their shifts during any mentorship as they will be following their mentor’s rota. Mentor rotas are full-time and will be shared as soon as possible.

Assessment and Interview Information

If you are successful at the shortlisting stage of the process, you will first be required to complete an online assessment. If this is passed, you will then be invited to attend a call handling assessment at our Wakefield Headquarters on Saturday, 8th November 2025. Candidates who pass the call handling assessment will be offered an interview on the same day. Please note: If you are unable to attend the assessment on Saturday, 8th November 2025, we kindly ask that you apply during the next recruitment round. Unfortunately, alternative dates or remote interviews cannot be accommodated for this vacancy.

Previous applicants who have been unsuccessful at interview may not re-apply within 3 months of the interview date. Previous applicants who have been unsuccessful in the training course for EMD/EOC within the last 6 months need not apply.

Closing Date

This advert closes on Sunday 12 Oct 2025