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South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust; High Wycombe, Bracknell, Reading; On-site; GBP 24,000 - 28,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

NHS Pension

Training provided

Career development

Job summary

South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust is hiring Emergency Care Assistants to support clinicians responding to 999 calls and provide essential patient care. Training is provided, with placements at High Wycombe, Bracknell or Reading and a 10-week programme including clinical and driver training.

Applicants must hold a full UK C1 driving licence with no more than 3 penalty points and be able to start training in November 2026.

Qualifications

• GCSEs at Grade 4 (C) or above including English and Maths.
• Full UK driving licence (C1) with no more than 3 penalty points.
• Ability to work shifts including days/nights/weekends.

Responsibilities

• Support clinicians responding to 999 calls and assist with patient care.
• Assist with emergency and non-emergency driving duties as required.
• Work from designated locations: High Wycombe, Bracknell or Reading.

Skills

Calm under pressure

Caring

Professionalism

Honesty

Education

GCSEs (English & Maths)

Job description

Emergency Care Assistant | South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

Company: South Central Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust

We are recruiting for a small number of Emergency Care Assistant (ECA) vacancies and expect high demand. This advert will close once sufficient applications have been received, so early application is strongly recommended.

Applicants must hold a full C1 driving licence at the time of application. Candidates with only a provisional C1 entitlement are not eligible for this recruitment campaign.

Training will take place in Bicester or Newbury, with most successful candidates starting in November 2026.

About the Role

As an ECA, you will support clinicians responding to 999 calls, providing patient care and assisting with emergency and non-emergency driving duties.

Vacancies are currently available only at High Wycombe, Bracknell and Reading, and candidates must be able to work from one of these locations.

Selection Process

Selection will be based on:

• Fitness assessment

Successful candidates will join an ECA waitlist while pre-employment checks are completed. Course places will be offered based on service need and recruitment outcomes. Deferrals are not available.

Applicants must already have the right to work in the UK. Visa sponsorship is not available for this role.

Emergency Care Assistants work in a challenging but rewarding role that provides essential support to our qualified clinical practitioners in responding to Accidents, Emergencies and Urgent Care requirements of the public.

No two shifts will be the same, you might be called out to a road accident victim with multiple severe injuries or to someone who has had a heart attack, you could even be transferring a very sick baby to a specialist centre or dealing with an elderly person who has fallen down the stairs.

We are looking for people who can demonstrate our values of Caring, Professionalism and Honesty in all they do. If you have experience of remaining calm under pressure, can demonstrate your caring and compassionate nature and do not mind working shifts (including days/lates/nights and weekend working), then we would like to hear from you now.

You must be able to commit to the full 10-week training programme. The training course consists of a full corporate induction week, 5 weeks of clinical training which includes basic life support skills, moving and handling and assisting the Clinical Practitioners and a 4-week driver training course including Blue Light conditions.

Once you have successfully completed your training, you will continue to a six month operationally monitored assessment-training programme, which is monitored locally by your Team Leader and Clinical Team Educator.

Benefits we offer

• Full training and a range of courses which you can book locally.


• Holiday entitlement of 27 days, rising to 29 days after 5 years’ service and 33 days after 10 years’ service, plus an additional 8 days bank holiday (pro rata for part time).


• Automatic enrolment into the NHS Pension Scheme.


• Access to continual professional development within SCAS and the wider NHS.


• Occupational Health support and direct access to our Employee Assistance Programme as well as our own Health and Wellbeing Team.


• NHS Discounts in over 200 + stores saving money on holidays, days out, car insurance, restaurants, clothing and much more.


• Ability to join our staff networking groups (as a member, ally or just for interest).

If your confirmed station is at Bracknell, you will also receive 5% High Cost Allowance (Fringe).

Training is non-residential, we do not provide mileage, parking reimbursement or accommodation during your training period.

Corporate Induction

It’s really important for us to ensure you have the best onboarding experience which allows you to feel a sense of belonging from the start. To help with this, we will book your Corporate Induction as soon as we possibly can (depending on availability).

All new starters need to attend our Corporate Induction in person, this is held over one and half days from our educational centres based in: Newbury (Berkshire) or Bicester (Oxfordshire). More specific details will be sent to you once your start date has been confirmed.

Please note – depending on your role additional training may be required following on from your corporate induction.

It is important that you read the job description and person specification for the role before completing your application, both of which are attached.

Applicants must be able to complete an interview which will be conducted via Teams, and you will need to undertake a pre-employment fitness assessment.

Applicants who do not demonstrate how they meet the Person Specification within their application will not be shortlisted.

Please ensure you demonstrate how you already embrace our values in your current/previous employments or educational settings within your application.

Your supporting information is your chance to articulate why you want to work within the Emergency Care Assistant role, and why we should be shortlisting you.

Top tips

• Fully consider the job you are applying for; what skills/abilities you have to offer, working in a front-line operational setting is extremely rewarding but it can also be both physically and mentally challenging.


• Demonstrate your work journey and why this is the right next step for you.


• Carefully review your application before submitting.

Detailed information regarding the criteria required for an Emergency Care Assistant is available within the Job Description and Person Specification, however, some of the essential criteria are:

• Valid UK full B category driving licence and full manual C1 category licence with no more than 3 penalty points.


• 3 GCSEs at Grade 4 (C) or above including English and Maths or equivalent qualification. If you can demonstrate experience equivalent to this level of qualification, particularly where this is combined with experience in a similar healthcare or caring role, this may also be considered.

Driving is an essential skill for this role, C1 or C1 provisional category manual driving licence is essential at the point of application with no more than 3 penalty points. This will be checked and due to the timescales for obtaining C1 provisional, we will not be shortlisting anyone without this category on their licence.

A driving licence summary (check code) will be requested from you at application stage and before shortlisting will take place to ensure you have the required full C1 licence. We will also be requesting photographic evidence of qualifications to meet the person specification so please be prepared to provide this to our Recruitment team.

Please note- you must have your full C1 entitlement win order to be eligible to apply for this role.

The FAQ document can be found attached below within the documents to download section.

We are expecting this programme to be very popular and due to the limited spaces available we may close this advert early should we receive a sufficient number of applications.

This advert closes on Sunday 13 Sep 2026