I work for the ambulance service, ask me anything!
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Why skills does your job require?What sort of things can you deal with for example do you know what to do if someone is in cardiac arrest or has a stroke or something quite severe?How do you deal with trauma patients where blood loss is very large?How do you deal emotionally or are emotional situations quite rare and most of the cases are fairly treatable and not very serious?
Original post by BlueLightDriver
Do you have a question you've always wanted to ask someone who works on a frontline emergency ambulance? Well, now's your chance! Ask anything about treating patients, driving on blue lights, working 12 hour shifts - i'll even tell you what colour my socks are! (black, unfortunately)
No questions, just a big THANK YOU.
Original post by Nerry
yeah why is a paramedic posting on TSR?
I've already said I'm not a paramedic. But I made this AMA a year ago and for some reason people have started asking questions tonight, so I've come back to answer them after getting an email
Original post by Anonymous1502
Why skills does your job require?What sort of things can you deal with for example do you know what to do if someone is in cardiac arrest or has a stroke or something quite severe?How do you deal with trauma patients where blood loss is very large?How do you deal emotionally or are emotional situations quite rare and most of the cases are fairly treatable and not very serious?
For cardiac arrest, we treat on scene and only take people to hospital in limited circumstances. The most important part is CPR, so if you don't know how to then you should think about booking yourself on a first aid course. Or watch this
which will give you some ideas.
For strokes and most other things, the main priority is getting people to hospital. For strokes, the patient has to have a procedure done at hospital within 4.5 hours, so we have to get there quickly and get to a specialist stroke unit quickly. For things like broken bones there's not much we can do (we can't set bones) so again it's off to hospital.
With major trauma, we try to stop the bleeding if possible, and then take the patient off to hospital quickly. We can request an air ambulance which has a doctor on board, and they can do some surgical procedures and then get the patient to hospital - the London air ambulance can reach anyone within the M25 within 6 minutes. They can then fly patients to hospital if it's necessary. But the air ambulance is a charity and receives no NHS funding, so they need people to donate money to keep it airborne.
It can be hard, because a lot of the time we never find out what happened. We don't know if the patient was discharged successfully or not. But then again, because you don't know, you can sort of pretend that they all lived happily ever after - and there's always another patient to treat, so there's something else to take your mind off it.
Original post by BlueLightDriver
I've already said I'm not a paramedic. But I made this AMA a year ago and for some reason people have started asking questions tonight, so I've come back to answer them after getting an email
For cardiac arrest, we treat on scene and only take people to hospital in limited circumstances. The most important part is CPR, so if you don't know how to then you should think about booking yourself on a first aid course. Or watch this
which will give you some ideas.
For strokes and most other things, the main priority is getting people to hospital. For strokes, the patient has to have a procedure done at hospital within 4.5 hours, so we have to get there quickly and get to a specialist stroke unit quickly. For things like broken bones there's not much we can do (we can't set bones) so again it's off to hospital.
With major trauma, we try to stop the bleeding if possible, and then take the patient off to hospital quickly. We can request an air ambulance which has a doctor on board, and they can do some surgical procedures and then get the patient to hospital - the London air ambulance can reach anyone within the M25 within 6 minutes. They can then fly patients to hospital if it's necessary. But the air ambulance is a charity and receives no NHS funding, so they need people to donate money to keep it airborne.
It can be hard, because a lot of the time we never find out what happened. We don't know if the patient was discharged successfully or not. But then again, because you don't know, you can sort of pretend that they all lived happily ever after - and there's always another patient to treat, so there's something else to take your mind off it.
For cardiac arrest, we treat on scene and only take people to hospital in limited circumstances. The most important part is CPR, so if you don't know how to then you should think about booking yourself on a first aid course. Or watch this
which will give you some ideas.
For strokes and most other things, the main priority is getting people to hospital. For strokes, the patient has to have a procedure done at hospital within 4.5 hours, so we have to get there quickly and get to a specialist stroke unit quickly. For things like broken bones there's not much we can do (we can't set bones) so again it's off to hospital.
With major trauma, we try to stop the bleeding if possible, and then take the patient off to hospital quickly. We can request an air ambulance which has a doctor on board, and they can do some surgical procedures and then get the patient to hospital - the London air ambulance can reach anyone within the M25 within 6 minutes. They can then fly patients to hospital if it's necessary. But the air ambulance is a charity and receives no NHS funding, so they need people to donate money to keep it airborne.
It can be hard, because a lot of the time we never find out what happened. We don't know if the patient was discharged successfully or not. But then again, because you don't know, you can sort of pretend that they all lived happily ever after - and there's always another patient to treat, so there's something else to take your mind off it.
One of the thing that had always impressed me was that we had helicopters so people can be reached quickly as it could make the difference between life and death finding out that this is not funded by the nhs (government) is an absolute disgrace in my opinion.Thank you for your reply.
What were the most serious cases you came across?
Original post by Anonymous1502
One of the thing that had always impressed me was that we had helicopters so people can be reached quickly as it could make the difference between life and death finding out that this is not funded by the nhs (government) is an absolute disgrace in my opinion.Thank you for your reply.
What were the most serious cases you came across?
What were the most serious cases you came across?
The wages for the doctor are paid by a hospital, and the paramedic is paid by the relevant ambulance service. But the funds to buy the helicopter. maintain the helicopter, run the helicopter (fuel etc) all come from donations. You can read about the London finances here, and I'm sure the other regional air ambulances will have similar websites.
I'm not sure how to quantify the "most serious". I've been to a few unexpected deaths where the patient was already dead and there was nothing to be done to save them; in these cases we're just there to verify that they are actually dead. I've been to a few cardiac arrests where we attempted CPR but it was unsuccessful. I've been to a cardiac arrest where the patient was resuscitated (although, as I've said, we don't find out if the patient was discharged or if they died at hospital). I've been to major trauma, strokes, one of the London terror attacks, severe sepsis, heart attack (this is different to a cardiac arrest), severe asthma and loads more.
I’m sure it’s a very emotionally draining job so one of my questions to you is do you have services available to you to help you cope with the difficult times such as dealing with the death of a patient?
Once I was watching Traffic Cops on the BBC and they caught a man pretending to be a paramedic with a fake uniform and ambulance. If I remember correctly he was actually caught again just recently doing the exact same thing. Have you ever seen or heard of any cases where somebody has pretended to be somebody they’re not?
Have you ever wanted to quit your job?
What benefits/perks do you have at your job?
Is the job what you expected it to be before you joined?
With the NHS becoming more stretched than ever after constant budget cuts, are you ever called in to do more days than normal and how often does that happen?
Once I was watching Traffic Cops on the BBC and they caught a man pretending to be a paramedic with a fake uniform and ambulance. If I remember correctly he was actually caught again just recently doing the exact same thing. Have you ever seen or heard of any cases where somebody has pretended to be somebody they’re not?
Have you ever wanted to quit your job?
What benefits/perks do you have at your job?
Is the job what you expected it to be before you joined?
With the NHS becoming more stretched than ever after constant budget cuts, are you ever called in to do more days than normal and how often does that happen?
Original post by Clark25
Do you find the job more emotionally draining rather than physically draining?
It depends on the day. There are physical aspects to the job, and there are emotional aspects, so it depends what calls you get sent on as to what is more. The ambulance service also deals with a lot of different things, so sometimes you can even get a day where it's neither.
Original post by Throwaway372
I’m sure it’s a very emotionally draining job so one of my questions to you is do you have services available to you to help you cope with the difficult times such as dealing with the death of a patient?
Once I was watching Traffic Cops on the BBC and they caught a man pretending to be a paramedic with a fake uniform and ambulance. If I remember correctly he was actually caught again just recently doing the exact same thing. Have you ever seen or heard of any cases where somebody has pretended to be somebody they’re not?
Have you ever wanted to quit your job?
What benefits/perks do you have at your job?
Is the job what you expected it to be before you joined?
With the NHS becoming more stretched than ever after constant budget cuts, are you ever called in to do more days than normal and how often does that happen?
Once I was watching Traffic Cops on the BBC and they caught a man pretending to be a paramedic with a fake uniform and ambulance. If I remember correctly he was actually caught again just recently doing the exact same thing. Have you ever seen or heard of any cases where somebody has pretended to be somebody they’re not?
Have you ever wanted to quit your job?
What benefits/perks do you have at your job?
Is the job what you expected it to be before you joined?
With the NHS becoming more stretched than ever after constant budget cuts, are you ever called in to do more days than normal and how often does that happen?
Yes, we have several services available if needed. There's formal counselling, informal counselling, trained colleagues etc.
I haven't seen any personally, but I have heard from colleagues that it does happen. We have had emails sent round with descriptions etc.
The training was very tough, and during that there were periods of thinking "I can't do this, I'll never be able to do this". So I suppose yes, I did want to quit during those points, but I think most people have similar low points.
Sometimes, places do NHS discounts. Sometimes we get offered free sports or events tickets - but there are a lot of people that work for the service, so it's really only if you're lucky. Sometimes, members of the public give us things - I was given a bottle of water in the summer and that was lovely! And I can also tell my partner to shut up because he's just got manflu and sound convincing.
No, but in a way I'm glad of that. I could never work in Holby - I don't know how they deal with such major incidents every week. We mostly get minor stuff. But I didn't quite expect the volume of the minor stuff, and I didn't expect how ridiculous some of the calls could be. Like, I have been called to normal period pains, or colds, or things that even before the job I wouldn't have dreamt of needing assistance. A lot of the more ridiculous requests don't get an ambulance as the calls are told on the phone that they don't need one, but not all do.
There's always overtime available, but we have to agree to it, and any overtime is paid. The police are forced to do overtime and have holidays cancelled etc, but that doesn't happen in my service (obviously I can't guarantee it doesn't happen in others). We get emails asking if we can do shifts, or people might ask you if they know their usual crewmate is off, but you have to agree to do it.
We do never finish on time, though. It's standard to be off around 30mins late, although more isn't uncommon. Again, we are paid for this, but it can make planning events for after work difficult because you don't know exactly when you can finish.
(edited 6 years ago)
Hi there,
Thank you for starting this thread.
I am getting things together to apply for Ambulance Technician training with the Scottish Ambulance Service. I am currently sorting out my C1 driving licence before I apply (as they only give you 6 weeks to complete if you are accepted into the program) I'm also currently attending Community First Responder training, and sorting out all the other things I need for application which I'm enjoying, the only thing I'm actually nervous about is the formal interview for the Ambulance Service application. I'm quite calm hands on and out and about but stick me in front of a panel of people I get uncomfortable. Do you have any tips for the application process? What did you find most difficult?
Kind regards
Thank you for starting this thread.
I am getting things together to apply for Ambulance Technician training with the Scottish Ambulance Service. I am currently sorting out my C1 driving licence before I apply (as they only give you 6 weeks to complete if you are accepted into the program) I'm also currently attending Community First Responder training, and sorting out all the other things I need for application which I'm enjoying, the only thing I'm actually nervous about is the formal interview for the Ambulance Service application. I'm quite calm hands on and out and about but stick me in front of a panel of people I get uncomfortable. Do you have any tips for the application process? What did you find most difficult?
Kind regards
(edited 6 years ago)
How much do you earn?
Original post by ILuvFood1234
How much do you earn?
I'm Band 4 of the NHS Agenda For Change payscale, which is £19409-22683. Some services do pay Band 3 for a similar role, though, and that's £16,968-19852. We do get paid for any overtime, though, and we also get unsocial hours payments.
Original post by HollyCS
Hi there,
Thank you for starting this thread.
I am getting things together to apply for Ambulance Technician training with the Scottish Ambulance Service. I am currently sorting out my C1 driving licence before I apply (as they only give you 6 weeks to complete if you are accepted into the program) I'm also currently attending Community First Responder training, and sorting out all the other things I need for application which I'm enjoying, the only thing I'm actually nervous about is the formal interview for the Ambulance Service application. I'm quite calm hands on and out and about but stick me in front of a panel of people I get uncomfortable. Do you have any tips for the application process? What did you find most difficult?
Kind regards
Thank you for starting this thread.
I am getting things together to apply for Ambulance Technician training with the Scottish Ambulance Service. I am currently sorting out my C1 driving licence before I apply (as they only give you 6 weeks to complete if you are accepted into the program) I'm also currently attending Community First Responder training, and sorting out all the other things I need for application which I'm enjoying, the only thing I'm actually nervous about is the formal interview for the Ambulance Service application. I'm quite calm hands on and out and about but stick me in front of a panel of people I get uncomfortable. Do you have any tips for the application process? What did you find most difficult?
Kind regards
The C1 practical isn't too bad, as long as you have some driving experience. The theory is awful, because it covers theory for all large vehicles (if you wanted, you could get your HGV licence and wouldn't need another theory test). So you need to learn all the rules about things that do not apply to you, like tachographs. But you can buy theory apps for around £5 (on Android, I don't know about iPhone) and practise questions. Some driving schools will offer a theory study day, but I felt this was unneccesary as getting your licence is expensive enough already.
Once you've got the job, you have to do a blue light driving course, which means you need to know the highway code inside out. So you might as well learn it really well now and find the highway code theory questions easy, and then just need a top-up when you get to that part of the course.
The job advert should have a person specification, which explains the skills/qualifications/experience you need. You need to go through that document and figure out how you meet each criteria. In your application, you need to explain each point. Think of examples of how you can show each thing.
I don't know the Scottish Ambulance Service personally, but it's likely that they will undertake several parts to selection (and having looked briefly at their website, it looks like they require at least a fitness test). You need to carefully read any invitations to assessment etc that they send you. You might have to go through several stages before you get to the interview. You don't want to turn up expecting an interview and actually getting a maths test.
Original post by BlueLightDriver
Do you have a question you've always wanted to ask someone who works on a frontline emergency ambulance? Well, now's your chance! Ask anything about treating patients, driving on blue lights, working 12 hour shifts - i'll even tell you what colour my socks are! (black, unfortunately)
Do you have any advice for a Student Technician who has been let go from the service after failing OSCE's on two occasions.
Ive been through 3/4's of my training and so disapointed at how its turned out.
Original post by nightfireuk2001
Do you have any advice for a Student Technician who has been let go from the service after failing OSCE's on two occasions.
Ive been through 3/4's of my training and so disapointed at how its turned out.
Ive been through 3/4's of my training and so disapointed at how its turned out.
It's standard that you're let go if you fail any exam twice. The only thing you can do is try to get another technician post, and then restart the whole course from the beginning.
If you have extenuating circumstances or feel this wasn't explained you can try to appeal, but you're unlikely to be successful.
ver arrived to see someone dead just a dead body. Also ever been attacked? Ever seen a really weird sexual injury.
Original post by BlueLightDriver
It's standard that you're let go if you fail any exam twice. The only thing you can do is try to get another technician post, and then restart the whole course from the beginning.
If you have extenuating circumstances or feel this wasn't explained you can try to appeal, but you're unlikely to be successful.
If you have extenuating circumstances or feel this wasn't explained you can try to appeal, but you're unlikely to be successful.
Yeah i feel that i do have extenuating circumstances, i have written to the head of service explaining the circumstances. However i was initially told there is no way of appeal - so i await a response.
Original post by nightfireuk2001
Yeah i feel that i do have extenuating circumstances, i have written to the head of service explaining the circumstances. However i was initially told there is no way of appeal - so i await a response.
It's an exam board thing that you can oly fail twice, and I don't know of anyone who has been successful at appealing that. But I also don't know your circumstances.
Original post by karl pilkington
ver arrived to see someone dead just a dead body. Also ever been attacked? Ever seen a really weird sexual injury.
Yes, I've seen a few dead bodies.
I've not seen a weird sexual injury, but I am a very trusting person. If they said they injured themselves doing X, I'd believe them. So I suppose it's possible I have and just not picked up on it.
Original post by k1234j
Would you recommend working for the ambulance service? And how did you become an ambulance technician? Thanks for creating this thread it has been very helpful!
Well, I applied for it, passed the initial assessments, passed the course, passed the qualifying year, and here I am!
It's very hard work, in that it's physically hard and mentally hard. You don't really get to make mistakes, and you don't get breaks. And if something hapens when you're off duty, unless you're drunk you're supposed to help. So it's hard and full on.
But then once, I got to hold a pallative care patient's hand until his daughter arrived and he passed away peacefully. I feel so privileged that when he needed someone, I got to be there.
are you allowed to speed/go through red lights on emergency?
Original post by DCFCfan4eva
are you allowed to speed/go through red lights on emergency?
We do both, but not at the same time.
(edited 5 years ago)
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