Ambulance Care Assistant - Mental Health

We have a fantastic opportunity for an Ambulance Care Assistant (Secure Mental Health) to join our amazing team based in Durham. 

We are looking for enthusiastic, care focused individuals, to join our Safe Care Division (Secure Mental Health), if you're passionate about people and feel you want to make a difference then consider a career with us.

Your main responsibility will be supporting the police and other professionals with transporting service users to and from healthcare facilities. This can be carried out alone or as a two- or three-person team, so it is vital to hold a full Manual UK driving licence. Full training will be provided for this rewarding role. 

Contract: Permanent/Full time - 4 on 4 off/ Monday - Sunday 

Some of the benefits can you expect:

£13.56 per hour 

Life Assurance – providing colleagues and their family financial peace of mind and protection to the value of £5,000.

24/7 online/telephone GP Consultation and access to prescriptions.

2nd opinion medical support following diagnosis or where a colleague is on a treatment pathway.

Cash-plan benefits, providing colleagues the option of protecting themselves in case of illness and recuperation, including dental, optical, chiropody.

Access to mental health consultations.

Access to physiotherapy consultations.

Access to legal advice on domestic issues e.g. motoring offences, wills and probate, and personal injury.

Financial guidance re retirement planning, tax savings and state benefits.

Long Service Recognition Scheme – recognising colleagues for their continued service after 5 years and at 5-year intervals with an increase in annual leave.

Values-based Internal Recognition Scheme with financial reward, which will lead to an annual recognition event.

Refer a Friend recruitment incentive scheme with financial rewards.

The EMED foundation, to provide support to colleagues and our local communities.

Paid holiday entitlement.

Pension Scheme.

Blue Light Card.

Uniform provided.

EAP (Employee Assistance Programme) to support a range of health and wellbeing requirements.

Flu vaccination (through an internal campaign in Autumn/Winter).

Main Duties:

Working as part of a team to support the patient on board.

Taking responsibility for ensuring the vehicle is safely and responsibly driven.

Assisting service users with challenging behaviour and/or mental health illnesses, with some who may need physical intervention.

Working alongside the police and other professionals to transport vulnerable service users between a variety of locations including hospitals, homes and prisons to medical/care settings including A&E, outpatients and hospital wards.

Liaising with hospital staff and the police on the safe conveyance of the service user to and from places of safety.

Responsible for lifting, securing, and helping service users in and out of the ambulance.

Handing over of service users to appropriate staff on arrival at treatment centres/hospitals.

Transfer service users from beds to stretchers, chairs to chairs or similar both in and out of hospital and medical/commercial flights.

Ensuring that the ambulance is kept safe, clean, and tidy.

Successful candidates will have:

Full manual UK driving licence with less than 6 points.

Committed to patient care and the ability to build a rapport with patients.

An effective communicator and experience of communicating with others in what can often be emotional and difficult circumstances.

To be a calm, considerate, careful driver, with no more than six penalty points on your license.

To have a natural flair for team working and collaboration.

Be physically fit for patient handling, moving and occasionally, patient restraint when required.

Able to problem solve and identify keys changes in patients’ behaviour whilst working demanding situations.

Please note that this role will be subject to several regulatory pre-employment checks, and you will be asked to provide details of your full employment history should you be invited to an interview. Your HMRC record, available to download from the Government Gateway may help you in preparing this information when required.

About Us

The exciting merger of ERS Medical and E-Zec Medical has enabled us to rebrand, therefore as a combined business we are now known as EMED Group. We are the largest Patient Transport and Care Partner to the NHS with circa 4,000 colleagues across 60 depots. Our ambition is to continue developing patient care transport services that improve the health and wellbeing for people across our local communities by providing transport that supports patient care, community support, secure mental health and medical courier services.

EMED Group are committed to providing services for our patients, service users, clients, and community and is supported by employees with an increasing variety of backgrounds. To do this effectively it is essential that we promote equality and embrace diversity and inclusion and treat all of our employees, patients, service users and clients with dignity and respect.

EMED Group is committed to encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion among our workforce, and eliminating unlawful discrimination, with our aim being to be truly representative of all sections of society and our clients, and for each employee to feel respected, valued and able to give their best.

EMED Group are committed to providing equal opportunities and we endeavour to provide an inclusive and safe working culture for all.