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Emergency care assistant

Emergency care assistants support paramedics and drive ambulances under emergency conditions.

Annual Salary

£24,000 to £29,000

Average UK salary in 2023 was £34,963
(source Office for National Statistics)

Working hours

37 to 42 a week

You could work: evenings / weekends / bank holidays; on shifts

5.4%
Future employment

There will be 5.4% more Emergency care assistant jobs in 2027.

Day to day tasks

In this role you could:

  • drive to medical emergencies
  • assess the risk to yourself and others and ask for more support if needed
  • support the paramedic to carry out essential emergency care
  • transfer patients into the ambulance and monitor their health
  • record patient information and complete a handover report
  • check and maintain the ambulance

Working environment

You may need to wear a uniform and protective clothing.

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

Your working environment may be physically and emotionally demanding.

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.

You could do a level 2 certificate or level 3 diploma in health and social care. You could also do a T Level in Health.

Entry requirements

You'll usually need:

  • 2 or more GCSEs at grades 9 to 3 (A* to D), or equivalent, for a level 2 course
  • 4 or 5 GCSEs at grades 9 to 4 (A* to C), or equivalent, including English and maths for a T Level
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • funding advice|https://www.gov.uk/further-education-courses/financial-help
  • guide to T Levels|https://www.tlevels.gov.uk/
  • search for courses|/find-a-course
Apprenticeship

You could do an advanced ambulance support worker apprenticeship to become an emergency care assistant.

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
For more information
  • equivalent entry requirements|https://www.gov.uk/what-different-qualification-levels-mean/list-of-qualification-levels
  • guide to apprenticeships|https://www.gov.uk/apprenticeships-guide
Volunteering and work experience

You'll find it helpful to have some health or social care experience before applying for a job.

You could:

Direct application

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

  • know the highway code and have experience driving
  • have experience working in patient care, ideally in the NHS
  • have a first aid certificate

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

You might need an extra driving qualification for larger vehicles and carrying passengers if you passed your test after 1996.

Requirements and restrictions

You'll need to:

More information

Further information

You can find out more about how to become an emergency care assistant from Health Careers.

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With experience and further study, you could apply to train as a paramedic. You could start by applying to become a trainee emergency medical technician or a student paramedic. You could then take an approved paramedic science degree.

You could also become a team leader or supervisor and be responsible for a team of emergency care assistants.

Skills required and how your skills match up

What skills are required?

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
  • thinking and reasoning skills
  • to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
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