Emergency care assistant

Emergency care assistants support paramedics responding to accidents and emergencies.

• Starter salary£26,000 a year
• Experienced£31,000 a year
• Typical hours37 to 42 a week

What you'll do

As an emergency care assistant, you could:

• drive ambulance vehicles
• respond to medical emergencies and accidents
• support paramedics to carry out essential emergency care
• monitor patient health during ambulance journeys
• maintain radio contact with the control room
• complete a patient handover report at the hospital
• maintain stocks of medical supplies and equipment

Working environment

You could work on an ambulance or in an NHS or private hospital.

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

You may need to wear a uniform and protective clothing.

Skills and knowledge you'll need

You'll need:

• sensitivity and understanding
• patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
• to be thorough and pay attention to detail
• customer service skills
• the ability to work well with others
• the ability to accept criticism and work well under pressure
• excellent verbal communication skills
• knowledge of public safety and security
• to be able to use a computer and the main software packages competently

How to become a emergency care assistant

You can get into this job through:

• a college course
• an apprenticeship
• applying directly

College

You could do a college course to give you some of the skills and knowledge you need to become an emergency care assistant.

Courses include:

• health and social care
• T Level in Health

Entry requirements

Entry requirements for these courses vary.

• 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level

Apprenticeship

You could apply to do an Ambulance Support Worker Level 3 Advanced Apprenticeship with an ambulance service.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

• 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths, for an advanced apprenticeship

Volunteering

You'll find it helpful to get some health or social care experience before applying for a job. For example, you could volunteer with:

• the NHS
• the British Red Cross
• St John Ambulance

You can also find opportunities through The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) and Do it .

Direct application

You can apply directly to become an emergency care assistant. You'll usually need:

• driving experience
• experience in patient care, ideally in the NHS
• a first aid certificate

Some ambulance services may ask for 3 or 4 GCSEs, including English and maths at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent qualifications .

Restrictions and requirements

You'll need to:

• have a full driving licence
• pass enhanced background checks
• have a good level of fitness

You may need a Category C1 licence or C1 provisional to drive an ambulance, depending on when you passed your original driving test. Check with the ambulance service you're applying to for details.

Career path and progression

You could become a team leader or supervisor, with responsibility for a team of emergency care assistants.

With experience, you could apply to train as a paramedic .

You might also train as a healthcare assistant or nursing associate . You could then go on to full nurse training, or work in other areas of healthcare.

Career tips

You can search for vacancies on NHS Jobs, or contact your nearest ambulance service trust .

Guides for this industry

• Health & Social Care: pay, interviews and getting started →

Related roles

• Job roleParamedic
• Job roleAmbulance care assistant
• Job roleEmergency medical dispatcher
• Job roleNursing associate

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0