Emergency Call Handler

East of England Ambulance Service - Call Handler

Your new company
East of England Ambulance Service - Call Handler
The East of England Ambulance Service provides 24 hours, 365 days a year accident and emergency services to those in need of emergency medical treatment and transport for 6.9 million people in Bedfordshire, Hertfordshire, Essex, Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire.
It is important that you learn a little more about them as part of your application, so please be sure to visit their website as soon as you can
We are very proud to be asked to recruit call handlers to dispatch ambulances and patient transport.
They have Emergency Operations Centres in Norwich, Chelmsford and Bedford and Hays is proud to be recruiting Call Handlers for all 3 sites.
The Norwich site is Hospital Lane, Hellesdon, Norwich, Norfolk, NR6 5NA . There's plenty of parking space available, and you can also easily reach the site using public transport.
Your new role
This job is to work in the EOC, taking calls from members of the public and from partner organisations such as the Coastguard, Police, care homes etc. You'll start off as a Hays temp while on training and your initial assessments, and then it's likely you'll convert to an Ambulance Service permanent contract 3- or 4-months in.
A typical 12-hour shift will see you take anywhere between 65 and 110 calls and, on average, 15% of those calls will involve an emergency where someone's life is in peril. You will very often be working at a very fast pace and recording everything that is said in their system.
You'll be working shifts both days and nights and everyone is expected to be able to work the rota (sorry, but we can't accommodate people who can only work days or nights or certain shifts). You will get your rota 5 weeks in advance, and typically it will look something like this.
What you'll need to succeed
The right person for this job can keep their eye on several balls at once You must have excellent communication skills and be able to clearly speak and understand English, as well as be confident to record critically important information (like addresses) on to the system using a keyboard. You will wear a headset to hear the calls. All your calls will be recorded, and your notes may be used if there is any future review of a case (for instance, in coroners' court).
You will get a lot of emotional support, and it's important that you're not the kind of person that bottles your emotions up but, of course, you'll also be calm in a crisis too.

Hays will submit your CV and if selected, you will be invited to a video interview on MS Teams.
The interview will consist of 7 screening questions, scored out of 4. You will need to score a minimum of 19 out of a possible 28 to be offered a position.

Your call will finish off with 3 administrative questions:

They will ask for your feedback on your interaction with Hays and with your consultant. They will ask if you have any planned or booked holidays (remember, you will not be able to take any holiday in the first 4 weeks of training). They will ask you about your flexibility and availability to start (i.e., if you need to give notice of any job you may currently be doing). What you'll get in return
These jobs will have 4 weeks of intensive training, where you will sit and must pass exams, but when you do pass, the certificate you get will qualify you to work in the same jobs around the world, so you have a qualification you can use in Canada, USA, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa .and many more You are not allowed to miss any of the training - it's too time-critical and if you don't pass the exams, you won't be able to carry on working in the EOC.
Once you have passed your training, you will begin working in the EOC and you will have 12 shifts where you will be mentored and supervised by your manager. After you have completed these shifts, your team leader will assess your handling of 25 calls or 6 hours at work (whichever comes first) and you will be allowed minor slip ups, but you must pass their assessments. If you fail, you are allowed another 2 shifts with full supervision and a second assessment of 25 calls / 6 hours, but if you fail a second time, your contract will be terminated.
What you need to do now
Call Kim on or email your CV.
If you're interested in this role, click 'apply now' to forward an up-to-date copy of your CV, or call Kim now on
If this job isn't quite right for you, but you are looking for a new position, please contact us for a confidential discussion about your career.
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