Emergency Care Assistant - Patient Transport Service

An exciting opportunity to work as an Emergency Care Assistant in our Non Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS). Providing care to our patients and responding to urgent, special and planned patient transport requests using advanced driving skills under blue light and normal traffic conditions as required. We are looking for enthusiastic and dedicated people who are preferably FREC 4 (First Response Emergency Care Level 4) and CERAD (Level 3 Certificate in Emergency Response Ambulance Driving) trained who want to join our friendly and supportive team.

Main duties of the job:

• Respond/attend to urgent, special and planned patient transfer requests.
• Ensure a continuous duty of care to patients, within the level of training and competency of this role, ensuring an appropriate level of monitoring and treatment is maintained and continued until the patient is either discharged or transferred to the care of another healthcare professional.
• Use advanced driving skills under blue light and normal traffic conditions to respond to emergency and routine calls as required.
• Operate High Dependency vehicles and deliver a low acuity service to patients requiring urgent admission to acute care, or transfer to a higher level of care.
• Communicate with and manage patients, relatives, carers and the public in a calm, sensitive and professional manner ensuring patient dignity and informed consent for all patient assessment and movement.
• Use patient lifting equipment such as stretchers, wheelchairs, carry chairs and stair climbers for the safe and efficient movement of patients in both domestic and hospital environments.

About us:

Essentia has a fundamental role in supporting the activities of the Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust. Essentia's focus is on providing a high-quality hospital environment and a high-quality hospital experience for our patients: through setting imaginative standards in the physical and built environment, through a programme of improvements to the range of support services, and by fostering a strong overarching patient-focused approach. The Non-Emergency Patient Transport Service (NEPTS) is part of Essentia. Our patient transport service is available for all patients who cannot travel to or from our hospitals using any other method of transport because of their medical or mobility condition, or because their medical condition would otherwise worsen. All requests for patient transport are assessed on medical need. Patient transport vehicles operate with appropriate staff and equipment. As patients have diverse needs, we provide a range of vehicles such as cars, wheelchair accessible cars, ambulances, high-dependency units and use specialist equipment such as wheelchairs, stretchers, carry chairs and stair climbers.

Job responsibilities:

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role, and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience, and knowledge required.

Person Specification:

Qualifications:

• Full UK driving licence held for at least one year.
• Driving licence must contain B1 category (driving vehicle up to 3500kg).
• A minimum of two GCSE's (or equivalent) at grades A-C including English Language or Literature, and Maths, or a Level 2 Functional Skills certificate or a Level 3 qualification in a health care related subject.
• Emergency Care Assistant - FREC Level 4.
• CERAD Level 3 Emergency Response driving.

Experience:

• On the road Ambulance Experience.
• Experience of working with the general public.
• Working in a health and/or social care environment in a voluntary or paid capacity.
• Experience in a driving role for a care organisation.

Skills:

• Effective verbal, listening and written communication skills.
• Able to handle sensitive situations assertively and tactfully.
• Demonstrate the ability and commitment to providing high quality patient care, appropriate to patient needs.
• Good interpersonal skills and ability to interact in a calm and professional manner.
• Understanding of vehicle and road safety issues.
• Respects and applies patient dignity and confidentiality at all times.

Physical Requirements:

• Fitness to carry out moving and handling of patients and equipment.
• Be able to lift a manikin weighing 75kgs up and down a flight of stairs safely.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check:

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.