Ambulance bosses seeking 70 new recruits

Ambulance service bosses in the North East have launched a campaign to find a new generation of call handlers.

Health advisors are the first person someone speaks to when they dial 111 and 999 and last year the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) took 439,940 calls to 999 and 864,050 calls to NHS111 – with 94,926 patients treated and discharged over the telephone and another 108,993 directed to urgent or primary care. The service is looking for 70 extra health advisors after receiving an additional £1.7m to create the posts at its centres in Newburn and Hebburn.

Gerardine Hope, service manager for call handling said: “This is a really exciting time for NEAS.

"Through this recruitment, we’ll be able to help more people through our 111 service and provide additional support to our existing team who have worked so tirelessly to manage an extraordinary increase in demand over the past 18 months.

“Given challenges elsewhere, we are looking for at least 70 people to fill our health advisor vacancies.

"It is a demanding job that requires people with a high degree of personal resilience.”

All 111 health advisors undergo five weeks of full-time initial training then spend time listening to calls before taking live calls alongside a coach.

The service also offers a part-time seven-week training course for people who are unable to commit to a fulltime course.

Health advisors are Band 3 on the NHS Agenda for Change pay scale. To find out more about how to apply, go to https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/916784257.