Emergency Medical Dispatch NHS-does anyone do this job??

Scousebird_2

Hi guys,

I have a job interview for an Emergency Medical Dispatch post in the NHS (Ambulance Service). I already work in a hospital but I am looking at this role because I am ready to move forward in my career and this job would be a step up for me.

I wondered if anyone had any experience of this role and what to expect?

jamesb1239

I have done it for a brief spell, but it depends on the actual job, some NHS Trusts call the call handlers Emergency Medical Dispatchers and others just call the actual dispatcher it. Did the job description say that you will be taking calls? If so then the job title is a little confusing as you dont actually dispatch anything. its basically taking calls from the public on 999 and also the police, fire, doctors and hospitals and then inputting the data into the system for a dispatcher to allocate resources to. You then provide information to the caller on how to treat the patient until the ambulance arrives with them. The training is quite fun, especially the role plays and the giving birth one in particular where you have to guide a caller through delivering a baby. But dont worry, no medical background is needed as it is all scripted and you are legally not allowed to deviate from the script otherwise you could be liable for any problems your advice may cause.

They seem to take on more telesales type people than medical as you need to be confident and comforting on the phone and everything you need to know is learnt in the training or provided on the job.

I'd go for it though as it is a good job (mine was only temp to cover them until they closed down and moved all calls elsewhere but I got my EMD training out of it)

Out of curiosity which trust are you looking to work for

Scousebird_2

Hi James

I am looking at a post with NWAS. I previously worked for 3 major UK banks in Customer Relations and Sales where I worked to scripts and I currently work as a Band 3 HCA at the local hospital Emergency Directorate (Ground floor A&E Medical Assessment). I also worked for O2 and I was very good at this job in their call-centre so communciations is my favourite field. I loved this job but I left due to relocation with my soon to be husband! I have high standards of Maths & English. An NVQ Level 3 in Health as well as a level 2 in Health and Social Care (so plenty of academically proven knowledge in Communication Skills) and I can type an average of 45 Words Per Minute.

I am now looking at this role. I have wanted to do this for a number of years, but I always thought you had to be trained staff to do it, it was only when I joined the NHS that I realised I could do this role without a diploma/degree and I have therefore pursued making this ambition a reality!

I really hope I am successful because it is something that interests me greatly and that I think I would be good at and can progress in.

Thanks for all your advice. This is the job purpose on the advert....

To obtain and input accurate information to define an incident category, providing a platform for NWAS NHS Trust to prioritise its response to incidents. Deliver advice and guidance to callers regarding medical & trauma conditions and scene safety until a response arrives, utilising all communications systems, for all activities dealt with by the Emergency Control Centre.

jamesb1239

All I can say is go for it, its the same trust I worked for (in the Cumbria office but that was all moved down to Broughton) I assume by your forum name you will probably be off to the Anfield office.
As a piece of advice I wouldnt think too much about your medical experience when doing your interview preperation as I mentioned earlier they want personality and not experience as you can not be trained to have a good personality. The shifts that the service usually work are 12 hours 6-6 (i think) and i think it was that you worked 4 days one week and 3 days the next (so that your hours average out) but dont bank on it working like that as quite often you ended up working for 7 days straight all nights or all days then having a week off, or you would work 4 nights then have 1 rest day then go on to do 3 days and then have 6 days off.
The training is pretty straight forward and lasts a couple of weeks and then you become a certified EMD (you get a load of daft badges to sew onto your uniform etc), from memory you learn CPR & Resus as part of it and gain a first aid certificate for that. You then spend the majority of the time learning the systems & learning how to use the AMPDS cardset (it basically categorises calls into how urgent they are and then directs you to the information that you need to provide the caller and questions that you need to ask) once you have learned the cardset you also learn the system and play putting in addresses etc and locating places (about 80% of the time callers are "known callers" and their address is already in the system, you just need to verify it with them, and also you have the ACL which provides the address associated with BT for the landline number, and you are provided with triangulation co-ordinates for mobile phone callers (big help in cumbria when people wonder off into the lake district and dont know where they are).

After all that is done you then basically forget the first bit of the training on the cardsets as they introduce you to a piece of software called ProQa which does it all for you and categorises the calls for you and then provides you with all the info you need.

Usually aswell depending on resources you will spend one full shift out with the paramedics in an ambulance, this is fun but hope that you dont get a weekend night or it will be full of drunks. Just as a quick warning if you are squeamish, you are expected to act as a team member in the ambulance even if that means giving cpr to someone or helping dress wounds etc.

Call volumes vary a lot fridays are usually busy with doctors offloading patients to hospitals for the weekend and mondays are busy with all the people who saved their weekend injurys until the weekend was over and it was time to go to work. You may work a day and only take 2-3 calls and other days you you may take 200+. You also make some calls to police/fire to request assistance or to notify them of accidents etc and you get the odd call for maintenance on vehicles and such.

Typing speed isnt really an issue, its more about accuracy and getting the address right so that the ambulance can be on its way while you are still taking details, you really want to have the full address located within about 15-20 seconds of answering the call. Not easy with drunks or people who are on street corners or strange places.

I hope that none of that put you off as it really is a rewarding and good job, just thought i would give you an insight into what it is like (as they never tell you in the interview).

Sorry for the rampling post lol, oh one other thing, sometimes after the interview they offer for you to go into the control room and see the people dealing with calls and to listen in to some calls, they tell you that this is optional but from experience anyone who refused this never got a job as it is basically seeing how you interact with the rest of the team.

I really am stopping typing this time, GOOD LUCK (and please dont be put off) any questions and I will try to answer

Scousebird_2

Hi Jay,

Had the interview and passed all the assessments and got through to the interviews. I am just hearing to wait to see if I've got the job. The worst bit was getting through the assessments and not failing. I was so scared I was going to but did it. Now just got to wait and see. Thanks for all your advice, it was a great help xx

Wrighty_7883

Hi

I realise this thread is from early this year but I was wondering if anyone could tell me about the assessments for this job? I have assessments to go to this weekend and I am a little nervous!

Thanks!

jojo_pezza

Hi Guys,

Sorry to bring this one back up again but I've been asked to attend an assessment for a EMD this Sunday 10th and I was wondering if the people who had been through assessments and perhaps then the interview could let me know what type of assessment to expect?

On the letter from HR, it explains I'll be tested on the role of EMDs and I wondered if this meant, literally, a written test of some sorts?

It also mentions that I'll be asked to do a typing test.

I wondered, though, why everyone is asked to arrive at the same time? I'm hoping it isn't one of those things where you all sit in a big circle having a discussion!!

Any help would be greatly appreciated so I can understand what will be expected of me.

t0rt0ise

Just guessing, but often if you turn up together it means you do the written tests first and those that fail go home, those that pass do an individual interview.

fiouk

Hello everyone,

I have a typing test and I would like to know what the EMD test involves. I did read the other posts but nobody discussed the test specifically.

I have been practising my typing with an online free typing test site and I just need to improve my accuracy I have been making 3-5 mistakes. Do they allow for mistakes in the test? any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

F

It_can_get_better

It has been a few years since i did it, but it really is not very difficult. Typing speed mark is very low, about 15pm. From what i remember you're given a number of passages to type out and are assessed on speed and accuracy.