Emergency Medical Advisor (999 Call Handler) - Crawley

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

Job summary

A health service organization in England is looking for a compassionate and skilled Emergency Call Handler. This role involves being the first point of contact for patients in emergencies, requiring excellent communication skills and empathy. Full training is provided, and the position offers a competitive salary with enhancements for unsocial hours and various benefits, including generous annual leave and NHS pension scheme.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Unsocial hours enhancements

35 days’ annual leave

Free parking

Generous NHS Pension Scheme

Access to occupational health

Qualifications

• Demonstrate high levels of personal commitment to facilitate delivery of patient-focused service.
• Ability to work within a team and independently.
• Demonstrated resilience in high-pressured environments.

Responsibilities

• First point of contact for patients calling 999.
• Collect necessary information and offer advice or reassurance.
• Utilize NHS Pathways system for patient assistance.

Skills

Caring and empathetic

Great communication skills

Ability to work flexibly

Strong interpersonal skills

Calm under pressure

Fast and accurate typing skills

Education

Good standard of education or equivalent experience

Job description

A Vacancy at South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

Your NHS needs YOU!

Why apply for this role?

Our 999 Emergency Call Handlers (Emergency Medical 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 999 in an emergency.

What makes a great 999 Emergency Call Handler (Emergency Medical Advisor)?

• Our 999 Emergency Call Handlers are all caring and empathetic
• They all have great communication skills
• They're all happy and able to work flexibly

As a SECAmb 999 Emergency Call Handler, you are the first point of contact and are responsible for ensuring the correct information is obtained from the caller, whilst offering advice or re‑assurance sometimes under difficult circumstances. You will enter details into a computer system about the patient and their condition which categorises the seriousness of their illness or injury to ensure the patient receives the most appropriate care from us, this may be an emergency ambulance response, a telephone assessment by a clinician, a referral to an alternative care pathway or self‑care advice.

We will provide full training in a warm, friendly environment in our Emergency Call Centres.

Our comprehensive training programme:

• 9 weeks full time training
• Is full time, even for part time applicants
• Has a ‘must’ attend policy due to you obtaining your Pathways licence
• Comprises of 3 weeks of Monday to Friday classroom training, then observing and mentoring periods within the working environment for a further 6 weeks before you go “live”.
• Is designed to fully support full transition to call handling independently

As we are a 24/7 service, this role will involve working a varied shift pattern including earlies, lates, nights and weekends on a rota pattern. These rotas are fixed to ensure a safe provision to our patients. If you have a requirement to work nights ONLY, this can also be catered for.

For a detailed insight in the Call Handler role, please see the information slides attached to this advert.

What we can offer you:

• Competitive salary of £24,071 - £25,674 with the earning potential of up to £30,000 per annum.
• Unsocial hours enhancements - For all hours that you work between 8pm and 6am Monday – Friday and all‑day Saturday you will earn a shift bonus which means you will earn approximately £16.62 per hour. For Sundays and Public Holidays, you will earn approximately £20.80 per hour.
• 35 days’ annual leave inclusive of Bank Holidays (pro rata)
• Flexible working hours on a rota pattern
• Free parking
• Blue Light discount card Blue Light Card
• Generous NHS Pension Scheme
• Award winning Wellbeing hub
• Staff networks
• Training and development
• Salary Sacrifice schemes for cars or push bikes
• Access to occupational health
• Enhanced DBS check
• Bonus schemes

The role of an Emergency 999 Call Handler (Emergency Medical Advisor)

When you dial 999, your call goes through to a call handler based in one of our 2 Emergency Operation Call 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.

Key qualities and requirements

• Successful applicants 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 or equivalent experience
• 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

The interview process will consist of 6 Multi Mini Interview's (MMI's) a Call listening element and a tour of the Emergency Operations Centre.

You will be required to complete an online Psychometric Test prior to the assessment day.

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

This advert closes on Sunday 7 Dec 2025