Trainee Emergency Call Handler - Waterloo​/Newham

Trainee Emergency Call Handler - Waterloo/Newham

This is a vital role for the London Ambulance Service, receiving and taking charge of all incoming emergency calls. You are the first point of contact for our callers and patients, some of whom will be distressed, anxious or panicking. Using effective communication, interpersonal and persuasive skills, you will deal with all callers in a professional manner in order to obtain the required essential patient information.

Using the Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS), you will obtain an initial assessment of both the patient and the scene in an efficient manner.

You must be able to remain calm in an emergency. When people are panicking, your role is to be clear and assertive where required to ensure the caller remains focused. You will need to be able to follow a script and reassure the caller, but also to be firm where necessary about what they need to do.

Our staff are on the end of the line while new life is born into the world and we help to deliver them. We provide support and reassuring words for someone alone with no one else to turn to. We stay on the line with those who are vulnerable, having engaging conversations to find out more information. We are the voice that comforts those who have lost a family member and we are there, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year.

Following a shift you will need to be able to switch off, which can be hard, especially after dealing with difficult calls. As part of a team, your colleagues are there for you and will help, support and enable you to realise the difference that you have made.

We are one of the world’s busiest ambulance services. We have around 8,000 staff and volunteers in our Service: around 3,300 frontline crews in ambulance stations across London, 500 people in our two 999 control rooms and hundreds of support staff based in our offices across the city.

Working for us is an experience like no other, in a city like no other. Whatever your role you'll be helping people who need us the most.

Together, we all play a key part in making sure that we can respond to anyone needing our help 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.

We are committed to promoting equal opportunities across everything we do, in terms of employment and training, providing services and our engagement and decision making. We welcome diversity and look for self‑motivated, enthusiastic people from all backgrounds who care about making a difference.

• 27 days annual leave plus additional bank holiday leave allocated
• MPDS qualification (Nationally recognised triage system used in 45 countries)
• NHS Discounts in over 200 stores including Holidays, Days out, Car insurance, Restaurants and Clothing

• Effectively answer all types of emergency and non‑emergency calls made to the 999 Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) from both Health Care Professionals, external agencies and members of the public.
• Ensure all calls are answered and responded to as laid out in the Trust’s policies and procedures.
• Be confident in utilising the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) system and Medical Priority Dispatch System (MPDS) to accurately enter patient information in an efficient way.
• Ensure all details are inputted and passed to relevant personnel to ensure appropriate dispatch of resources.
• Deal with complex, sensitive or contentious information regarding a patient’s condition.
• Communicate tactfully and empathetically with callers showing care when handling all calls.
• Monitor patient incidents to ensure all information is gathered and the patient’s condition has not deteriorated.
• Maintain effective control of the call to ensure efficient handling time to improve the response to the patient.
• Remain calm and resilient in a pressurised environment.
• Be able to modify and adapt communication styles taking into consideration the differing needs of the callers especially in complex situations.
• Be able to effectively communicate and deal with highly emotional callers, including traumatic incidents such as death.
• Confident to utilise negotiating skills when handling calls where the caller is abusive or…