About this role
Job summary
North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (NEAS), is looking to expand its team of Community First Responders (CFR) volunteering their time across the North East, supporting patients within their own communities whilst emergency ambulance crews are travelling to the patient.
CFRs are deployed to incidents within their community, at the same time as an ambulance is dispatched, to provide vital life-saving care and support, or simply a reassuring face, in the crucial minutes between a 999 call being made and the arrival of the crew.
To become a CFR, you must be able to attend and successfully complete the full training programme. Training is currently under review and is expected to be delivered over four days. We are also exploring additional options, including weekend sessions, where there is sufficient demand.
Main duties of the job
Community First Responderswill generally be asked to respond to emergency calls within their local area, to attend a medical incident.
They are dispatched at the same time as an ambulance but may arrive first as they are nearer, and can provide early interventions in those crucial first minutes of an emergency. They will deal with a specific list of emergencies, providing care and support to both the patient and their family.
CFR's will be asked to attend medical emergencies such as heart attack, stroke, breathing difficulties, and cardiac arrests, (where someone's heart has stopped beating).
You will need to have access to your own vehicle (fully insured to carry out First Responder duties) and MOTd with a full driving licence.
Responders operate across the whole of the North East in both rural and urban areas, and are a crucial part of the Chain of Survival.
About us
We employ 3,500 staff in 63 locations and serve a population of 2,600,000 in Northumberland, Tyne & Wear, County Durham, and Tees over 3230 square miles.
Many people think the job of the ambulance service is to collect patients and take them to hospital, but we do much more!
Paramedic skills have developed hugely in recent years, meaning we carry out more treatment at the scene and en-route to hospital.
We have a dedicated clinical assessment service that allows us to provide patients with the most appropriate care from the beginning of the patient journey.
We have a specialised branch of the Trust called HART which deal with explosions or terrorist attacks.
Ultimately patients are the heart of everything that we do to support our mission of "safe, effective and responsive care for all".
We value and respect the diversity employees bring to our workplace. We recruit a workforce that reflects the community we serve, and welcome applications from people from all backgrounds. To ensure we deliver on our aims in relation to diversity and inclusion we assess ourselves against a range of frameworks. We are ENEI Gold employer, Disability Confident Leader, Dyslexia Smart Award employer, Dementia Friendly, and part of Mind Blue Light programme and the Race at Work Charter from the Princes Responsible Business Network and are achieving across all objectives in NHS Equality Delivery System.
Job description Job responsibilities
For the full details of the duties and responsibilities for this role please refer to the attached job description and person specification.
Please state in your supporting information your preferred location.
Person Specification
Qualifications Essential
Good level of literacy and numeracy skills
Experience Desirable
Previous experience of working as a volunteer within a patient care setting. First Aid Qualification and experience
Additional requirements Essential
Ability to compete the mandatory training programme Have own vehicle with tax, MOT and insured to respond as a NEAS volunteer.
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.
Employer details Employer name North East Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust
Address North East England
North East England
NE15 8NY
United Kingdom
Employer's website https://www.neas.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)