Trainee Critical Care Paramedic in Ramsgate

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) has a vision to ‘support our staff to provide a caring, high quality and efficient urgent and emergency care service to our communities’. We are rated ‘Good’ for care by the Care Quality Commission and while the other areas under their most recent report require improvement, our aim is to continually improve and to reach outstanding across all areas of the Trust. Our 4,000+ workforce provide services to 4.9m people across Kent, Surrey, Sussex and North East Hampshire. We handle over 1 million calls to 999 and 1 million calls to NHS 111 every year.

We are pleased to offer this exciting opportunity for experienced paramedics to apply for the role of Trainee Critical Care Paramedic. The Trainee CCP is a developing advanced practice role, undertaking an in-depth programme of training and education inclusive of 1 year (wte) of work place based training and supervised practice, alongside a 3 year MSc in Advanced Clinical Practice. The Trainee CCP will move to independent clinical practice on the completion of the first year of training.

Applicants must be paramedics registered with the HCPC with a minimum of 3 years post registration experience. This is a competitive process and applicants must demonstrate that they meet all of the essential criteria in the person specification. The trainee role is paid at band 6 with relevant unsocial hours payments, moving to band 7 on successful completion of the first year of training.

Main duties of the job

• Once qualified the primary role of a Critical Care Paramedic (CCP) is to provide an enhanced clinical service supporting the care to the most acutely ill and injured patients, alongside other professional roles and agencies, in order to promote improved outcomes and patient experience.
• To practice with an extended scope of clinical practice and formulary, assess and manage high acuity undifferentiated patients in the pre-hospital environment.
• To lead and support clinical decision making both in an operational environment and where necessary remotely.
• To provide clinical leadership in an operational environment and support supervision and mentoring of clinical staff.
• To support clinical education and training activity as a subject matter expert.
• To work on the Critical Care Desk within the Emergency Operations Centre supporting the dispatch of enhanced care resources and provision of remote clinical advice.

Working for our organisation

There are vacancies at Dartford (Kent), Thanet (Ramsgate, Kent), Ashford (Kent) and Paddock Wood (Kent). Base locations will be determined on applicant preference and offered in the order of applicant scores. Once offered a position, successful candidates should be prepared to undertake their training and subsequent qualified role at this location. Transfers will not be accepted until 12 months post qualification. Less than full time or flexible working applications will be considered and can be discussed on an individual basis.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

Clinical

• Undertake the full range of paramedic duties as part of an operational crew, as well as a solo responder, on a rapid response vehicle or in other appropriate areas/vehicles and/or emergency/urgent care settings, as per Trust standard operational instructions.
• Assess, treat, manage and where appropriate refer patients according to the nature and severity of their condition referring to alternative care pathways where appropriate.
• As appropriate, provide packages of care to patients at home.
• Carry out paramedic duties commensurate with national clinical practice guidelines & Trust specific PGD’s and guidelines.
• As appropriate, treat refer or discharge patients who access the health service but who do not need hospital admission where clinically safe to do so.
• Responsible as an autonomous practitioner using local care pathways associated with local initiatives promoting see and treat, where clinically safe to do so, reducing inappropriate conveyance and subsequent ED admission.
• To work as a team member, under appropriate supervision, to deliver critical care treatment in a variety of situations.
• To collect, analyse and utilise patient information from the patient’s history, physical examination, laboratory, and radiographic and other diagnostic data and identify relevant problems.
• Undertake other additional clinical skills under supervision and direction, which have been formally agreed by the Trusts Medical Directorate.

General

• Ensure that consent is obtained before undertaking assessment treatment or intervention.
• To carry, store, supply and administer medications in accordance with National Guidelines, Trust Policy and patient group directions (PGDs).
• Ensure the prompt, legible and accurate completion of all patient and incident records, providing a full and accurate record of decision making in accordance with the Caldicott principles, current legislation and regulatory framework.
• Ensure the sharing of information is always done in compliance with information governance procedures.
• Ability to organise and manage the scene of a complex incident during initial stages until a Manager / Commander arrives.
• This could involve organising or managing patients, bystanders or other responding services.
• Make reasoned decisions regarding initiating, modifying or ceasing treatment or procedures and ensuring accurate documentation of decisions.
• Being accountable and responsible for clinical decisions made during the course of duty, and seek senior clinical advice where appropriate.
• Demonstrate the ability to communicate complicated information when dealing with complex patients and their subsequent care ensuring that this is appropriately passed to relevant parties.
• Effectively communicate sensitive information when dealing with clinical incidents.
• An example of this is when handing over patients to another healthcare professional or making a safeguarding referral.
• Drive all relevant vehicle types operated by the Service in accordance with the emergency vehicle driver training standards and the Highway Code and relevant legislation.
• Conduct vehicle checks in line with Trust policies and procedures prior to use ensuring that it is fully equipped and that all equipment is functioning and ready for use.
• At the start and completion of shifts, carry out vehicle and equipment inspections, ensuring that all defects, deficiencies and accident damage are reported in accordance with the Trust’s service procedures.
• Maintain appropriate standards of cleanliness of vehicles and equipment and those parts of the station specified by the local management team.
• Ensure the safe transfer of patients, to and from vehicles, following health and safety and other appropriate protocols and procedures, taking account of the safety of patients, self, colleagues and others, using appropriate equipment and manual handling techniques.

Management/Leadership

• Provide clinical leadership in an operational environment.
• Ability to organise and manage the scene of a complex incident during initial stages until a Manager / Commander arrives. This could involve organising or managing patients, bystanders or other responding services.
• Supervise and mentor designated staff and students, taking appropriate action when performance falls below expected standard.
• Use appropriate knowledge and skills when working with or mentoring students and new staff to ensure they are competent in undertaking clinical procedures and utilising appropriate equipment.
• Identify safeguarding concerns and ensure these are reported and documented in an appropriate manner and are escalated and followed up as appropriate.
• To work under supervision when undertaking operational shifts as a trainee Specialist Paramedic.

Education

• Enrolled on Specialist Paramedic training programme.
• To undertake all necessary elements of training and education required for the role.
• To undertake all necessary assessment elements required for the role.
• To be responsible for ensuring compliance with statutory and mandatory training and undertake CPD to maintain fitness to practice and adherence to the regulatory body Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) standards.
• Attend supervision and appraisal sessions with line manager and appropriate others, as required.

Quality Improvement

• Support development of the CCP role.
• Participate in Trust clinical audit and effectiveness processes as required including evaluation of clinical procedures, processes and instructions to ensure the highest standards of service are achieved in the interest of patient care.
• Where appropriate, make proposals for change to own working practices and policies within own working area.
• To participate in research activity as required to promote and develop the critical care agenda.

Person specification

• HCPC registered Paramedic with no current sanctions.
• Honours degree 2.2 or above in Paramedic Science or related subject or as a minimum completion of at least 30 credits at Level 6 or higher with a pass.
• IHCD/FutureQuals Emergency Driving.
• Life Support Course (newborn, paediatric, adult)/PHTLS/DipIMC.
• Current driving licence (manual) with C1.
• Member of the College of Paramedics.
• Have undertaken training relevant to developing towards this role.

Knowledge

• Understanding of human factors / CRM in pre-hospital care.
• High levels of current clinical knowledge.
• Knowledge of local and national policies informing paramedic specialist practice.
• Strong understanding of medicines management and associated legislation.
• Familiarity with current research in pre-hospital and critical care medicine.

Experience

• Must have a minimum of 3 years post registration experience.
• Current demonstrable experience of working in pre-hospital care within an NHS ambulance environment or similar.
• Experience of supervising and mentoring staff in a clinical environment.
• Experience of undertaking audit activity.
• Experience of working in a clinical leadership role.

Skills

• Good numeracy and literacy skills.
• Identifies challenges and works with others to identify solutions.
• Demonstrates leadership in practice.
• Ability to work under pressure in a resource limited environment.

Personal Qualities

• Demonstrate ability to reflect and learn from situations.
• Professional in their conduct.
• Highly motivated.
• Demonstrate a commitment to lifelong learning and development.
• Emotional resilience.

Please note that the salary range noted on the vacancy is in line with agenda for change (AFC) pay scales. All successful applicants would be placed automatically at the bottom of the banding, unless proven, relevant NHS or equivalent experience can be demonstrated.

Following the revision of current national legislation (Vaccine as a Condition of Deployment), the Trust has reviewed our requirements relating to staff uptake of the SARS-COV-2 (COVID-19) vaccination. Going forward, for patient facing positions, we strongly recommend that new starters will be appropriately vaccinated unless medically exempt in order to offer greater protection against exposure to the virus for front line staff.

In line with this recommendation, if you are successful in your application for a front line post, we will seek information from you in relation to your vaccine status, including exemption status, as applicable.

Please note, all positions come with a Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check relevant to the post. This will either be a basic, standard, or enhanced check depending on the role. The level of check will be outlined in the conditional offer letter sent to successful applicants.

As part of the application process, you will be asked to declare any unspent/unfiltered convictions. If you are shortlisted you will then be sent a self declaration form, which must be completed prior to attending interview. For any queries relating to declarations, please contact the Recruitment Advisor listed on the vacancy.

The Trust is passionately committed to being an inclusive employer - a place where we can all be ourselves and succeed. As an employer we offer a range of family friendly, inclusive employment policies, flexible working arrangements, staff engagement networks, facilities and services to support staff from different backgrounds.

We actively support equality of opportunity for all our staff and welcome applications from individuals regardless of age, any disability, sex, gender reassignment, sexual orientation, pregnancy and maternity, race, religion or belief. The Trust is making progress towards its aim of becoming more reflective of the diversity of our community in our workforce and guarantees an interview to candidates with disability who meet the essential criteria specified.

The Equality Act 2010 protects disabled people - including those with long term health conditions, learning disabilities and hidden disabilities such as dyslexia. If you tell us that you have a disability we can make reasonable adjustments to ensure that any selection processes - including the interview - are fair and equitable.

We are committed to offering opportunities to individuals with disabilities and offer ongoing support, should you be successful, with any adjustments you may need when performing your role.

When completing the application please use your name as it appears on your passport and please ensure you include email addresses and contact numbers for your referees to avoid delay in the recruitment process.

Please note that under our Trust policies, we are unable to employ anyone under the age of 18 years old.

The majority of our roles will include some travel between sites for business purposes. If the vacancy you’re applying for includes work related travel, you will be required to ensure that you hold and have covered the cost of suitable car insurance to support this.

Should you require an application form in an alternative format including large print or braille, please contact recruitment@secamb.nhs.uk stating the vacancy reference number and we will be happy to provide this.

When completing the reference section, please include details to cover the last three years’ history.

Due to the high volume of applications at SECAmb, we regret that we will only be able to contact those applicants who are shortlisted for interview. If you have not heard from us within 10 working days of the closing date, then please assume you have not been shortlisted for interview on this particular occasion.

Please note that we contact all applicants via Trac Jobs and would advise you check your Trac Jobs account regularly.

Please be aware that the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy early if sufficient applications are received. For this reason we recommend completing your application as early as possible.

Follow our recruitment on Twitter @SECAmbRecruit and check out our Facebook page - SECAmb NHS Recruitment. You can also find us on Linkedin under South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust.

We understand that AI tools can be useful for generating ideas or structuring your application. However, any content submitted must reflect your own experiences, skills, and understanding. Applications that are generated wholly or in large part by AI, without personalisation or accuracy, may be excluded from consideration. We value honesty, authenticity, and integrity in the recruitment process and expect all applicants to uphold these principles.

If you are a current SECAmb employee, by applying for this position, if successful you will move to the terms and conditions associated with the post. Any unsocial hours payments will be paid under the Section 2 agreement of agenda for change. Section 2 unsocial hours will need to be claimed via your monthly timesheet. More information regarding section 2 can be found in the Agenda for Change handbook and on our dedicated Section 2 page on The Zone.