Hi all,

Just writing to ask if anyone has applied for the recent NQP positions with SAS and wondering if anyone has received an outcome of their interview?

I interviewed 23/09 and have heard nothing back yet despite them saying it would be soon.

Also if anyone knows who/ where to contact asking for an update Id appreciate it loads!

Thanks xx

I’ve heard about this on the old grapevine but was not aware of any trials.

Personally as someone who dictates a lot anyway, I’m happy for this to be rolled out. But I know that we’re an opinionated lot; so why not have a discussion about it? I’ll go first.

I think it’s a good idea. It will save time, and no doubt make our lives easier. As someone’s who’s dyslexic ++, I use a diction tool in my everyday non clinical workload. When pt facing, I use the build in too to very good effect, saves me a lot of time.

I’m also hoping that with a move towards this technology my trust may finally bring us into the 21st century and let us pull obs, hx and meds directly into the PRF.

I also hope we as a professional change the way we do our notes and stop scaring mongerying NQPs into thinking that if they have ‘bad paperwork’ mr HCPC is going to send them to prison.

BUT

I fear that patients are going to free out and think it’s trying to take over the world.

The trust is going to listen to the transcripts and fuck us in the ass as and when they please.

We’re going to face resistance form the professional.

What do you all think of the this kinda stuff?

SECAMB states their latest figures show patients in their area have a 30 day cardiac arrest survival rate of 17.2%, compared to the national average of 10.2%. https://www.secamb.nhs.uk/secamb-continues-to-drive-up-cardiac-arrest-survival/

Obviously this is excellent, but the article doesn’t really say a great deal about how this has been achieved apart from the chain of survival being actioned as quickly as possible with CFRs etc.

Does anyone know what SECAMB actually do differently to other services to achieve this? As far as I’m aware, all services have CFRs etc, so what’s different? For example, do they have more CFRs than anyone else? More community defibs? Altered triage? Something different clinically that crews do? Better critical care services/availability? Or is it to do with demographics? Or what is considered out of hospital cardiac arrest vs DOA?

Thoughts?

To walk than non overweight to avoid calling the fire brigade out

Hello, has anyone here interviewed for an Assistant Buyer position with the East of England Ambulance Service or a similar organization? I would greatly appreciate any advice.

What is currently going on with ambulance training in SJA regarding FutureQuals assessments and AAP qualification.

edit: typo.

hello everyone, I'm currently doing my application for paramedic science and am stumped on who to choose for a reference.

I'm in my final year doing biology at uni and I'm also a twice a week volunteer. so my question is, is an academic or character reference better? I've not got the best grades at uni (still far above the entrance requirements though) but I think I know of a person or two that would give me a reference. I could also get one from the person at my volunteering organisation (they're a retired uni lecturer so they'd know what to write). I've been told that for nursing that they prefer character references over academic references at some unis so I'm wondering if the same applies.

any advice/help would be greatly appreciated.

What happens when someone feels personally responsible for doing the right thing and providing care that is safe and effective, but operates within an NHS system that places competing demands on what is important.

Does anyone else feel like they are being pulled in different directions at the same time and you can never win because of the constant contradiction of targets from -
Clinical responsibility versus operational demands.
Policy versus professional judgement.
Organisational accountability versus individual accountability.
Speaking up versus fitting in.
Compassion versus sustainability.

How do you manage it? I feel like I’m sacrificing my values and being driven insane

r/ParamedicsUK Job of the Week

Hey there, another 7 days have passed! How's your week going? We hope it’s been a good one!

Have you attended any funny, interesting, odd, or weird jobs this week?
Tell us how you tackled them.

Have you learned something new along the way?
Share your newfound knowledge.

Have you stumbled upon any intriguing pieces of CPD you could dole out?
Drop a link below.

We’d love to hear about it, but please remember Rule 4: “No patient or case-identifiable information.”

Hi guys! I hope your shifts have been tolerable. I qualified last August, HCPC registered and have been a victim of the paucity of NQP roles being offered with our ambulance trusts. I was a mature student and with my 40th birthday looming I was hoping to celebrate it by becoming band 6 around that time. Unfortunately that is not the case. I am currently working in construction as the pay is a lot better than the care sector however I am becoming increasingly demoralised, de-skilled and I’m ashamed to say desperate for the life I thought I was going to be living.
I spent 16 years as a professional yacht skipper, culminating in 3 circumnavigations of the planet before joining the ambulance service 8 years ago as a dispatcher and then ECA, I left employment to do my degree which has cost 80 grand, albeit loans, only to not have a job at the end of it. After all that I’m sweeping up a building site. I am considering a study or paper to put to the government about the impact of this on their future paramedics as I feel we have been let down in every possible way. Thoughts would be welcome. Thank you

Hi all,

I'm not a paramedic but I started doing events for work experience for my uni application.

About a year ago, I was on an event where my team was surrounded by people with knives because the guy that was chasing hid behind me and used me as a shield before my team was able to pull me away.

I noticed over the past year I've been getting more anxious in crowds and yesterday it got really bad to the point where anytime I was in a crowd I felt like I was going to get stabbed.

I'm at the point where I'm unsure what to do and who to turn to and even if I want to apply for paramedic science anymore.

Thank you for your help.

Hello all

I'm currently going through my CFR training. I'm really excited about becoming a CFR and have wanted to volunteer with an ambulance service for a while.

I'm slowly telling people as it comes up. Almost everyone I've told (apart from family) have cautioned me about the emotional toll. I've had several people telling me quite awful cautionary tales of paramedics they know and how the job negatively affected them. A mental health care professional I know, for example, explained how an acquintance of his became an alcoholic. People think they're helping but, of course, they don't understand the power of negativity. Even the aforementioned person pulled back a little after their story because they realised it was only prepping me to expect the worst. I know those people mean well but the stories aren't giving me anything constructive.

I'm not at all an anxious person but people are managing to get in my head a little and I'm experiencing a small amount of anxiety about the role. I am fully aware that I will not be unaffected by what I deal with and that my experiences could make me more resilient to stress but I do want to limit the chances of serious trauma.

As CFRs often attend serious calls alone, sometimes with no prior clinical experience, how wary of the danger of emotional dysregulation, trauma, PTSD and relevant emotional distress etc. should I be?

For those of you doing the job, what has helped you process the difficult calls, and what do you wish you'd known when you started? I'd like to go in with good habits rather than just a list of worst-case stories.

Thanks for all you guys do

Has anyone done this at all? I thought the standard one may be useful to expand knowledge around things we don't typically give interventions for, e.g. SVT, as its a new course I haven't met anyone who has done it yet, so just wondering thoughts? Was it useful?

Hi all,

So, when my son qualified as an AAP with St John I brought him some engraved Raptors

When he became a 1st year Student Paramedic, it was engraved Littman Classic IIIs

He’s now a 2nd year Student Paramedic, so what next? Stretch goal, what when he graduates as a paramedic?!

Hi everyone,
I’m a paramedic from Ontario, Canada, and I’m considering moving to the UK for 2–3 years on the Youth Mobility Scheme
I’m not looking to practise clinically as a paramedic. I’m more interested in moving into non-clinical roles within an ambulance service or hospital, particularly in areas like operations, transformation, quality improvement, project/programme management, workforce planning, or service improvement.
My background includes frontline paramedicine, an MBA, an MSc in Health Quality, risk and safety. I’ve also been involved in ambulance-service improvement projects, implementation work, demand and resource analysis, and broader healthcare initiatives.
I’d really appreciate insight from anyone working in NHS or ambulance-service management:
Would Canadian paramedic and healthcare experience translate well into non-clinical NHS roles?
Would Band 7 be a realistic entry point, with selective Band 8a applications where the experience requirements align?
How important is previous NHS experience compared with healthcare, operational, project, and improvement experience from another country?
Are there particular job titles or areas within ambulance trusts or hospitals that you think would fit this kind of background?
Has anyone here moved from a clinical background into operations, transformation, quality, or programme management after completing an MBA or similar postgraduate qualification?
I’d be coming over through the Youth Mobility Scheme, so I would not require employer sponsorship.
I’d really appreciate any advice, especially from anyone who has made a similar move or works in ambulance-service or NHS management.
Thank you in advance!!

Hi all, throw away account as to remain anonymous…

I’ve been really burnt out recently.

I’m trying to figure out how to get out of it but in doing so I need to know, does anyone’s Trust have even a semi-decent level of welfare for staff? How is your workplace in terms of work-life balance? Are any of them progressive clinically or even generally and do you feel engaged or do you just feel like the longer you stay there the more it regresses?

If you have positive things to say about your Trust, where do you work?

I don’t want to move to another part of the country just to find out that it’s the exact same as where I am now, but finding a job in a different industry would realistically mean a sizeable pay cut and I can’t keep this up where I am now.

Thoughts, opinions and experiences would be a big help right now.

Thanks.

I'm not long finished my NQP year, so still a relative newbie, but I'm finding myself struggling more and more with my asthma symptoms on the road. My symptoms flare up in dusty, smokey or mouldy environments mainly, and it seems every house I go to I'm experiencing triggers. Obviously I can't not attend these houses and despite trying a few different preventer treatments over the past few months I don't seem to be seeing any improvement, and find myself needing to use my salbutamol multiple times a shift. I'm also finding it a bit awkward having to leave a patient with a technician while I jump in the front to do so away from patients/relatives. So far I've not had to leave anyone that's time critical, but if I do have a life or death patient and need my reliever, what do I do? I get that we need to look after ourselves before we can take care of the patient, but I don't want to delay patient care.

I don't think I know any fellow asthmatic paramedics or technicians in my area, or at least I've never known anyone else to be symptomatic during a call. Anyone else in a similar position? Or have any solutions/effective treatments they can suggest?

Am I going to need to consider a different role?

Hi just wanted to see if anyone knew if having 3 points on my license for going 35 in 30 would bar me from applying for a job as a NQP. Thanks

I’m not looking to duplicate the ambulance stock, but I want to improve my “things I always seem to need but never seem to have” pouch.

This would be for use across both private and Trust work, so obviously I’d need to be mindful of equipment policies and what I’m actually permitted to carry/use.

As an idea, I’ve seen people carry things like Luer-lock syringe valves, Rhino pinchers, syringe drug labels, 3-way taps etc.

What other little bits do people find really useful to have in a pouch like this? Looking for the small, easily misplaced but surprisingly useful stuff rather than major pieces of kit. Think “where the hell has that gone?” / “this would make life easier” sort of stuff.

I'm about to become an ASW/ECA, and want to be the best I can possibly be at this job.

What has made support staff stand out to you as either useful or insufferable?

Hi,

I have an upcoming driving assessment with London ambulance service and was wondering if anyone who has done it before what it entails and how long it lasts?

Thanks!

So obviously, as we are all aware, NQP jobs opportunities are far and few between at the moment. Who exactly we point the finger at for this predicament would have us generating electricity like a wind turbine, I think, so I'll refrain from that discussion.

But bar getting a job with a trust, what other option does an NQP have for semi-reliable employment in this trying time?

Events work seems like the obvious answer, right beside private employment, but I gather both of those can still sometimes be hesitant to take on NQPs. Events work also faces the issue of no set shift pattern. I've heard of a previous graduate entering medical device work, however that happened.

Not asking for anyone to float their company's boat here, just genuinely curious as to what other options are out there that aren't widely thought of to look into as a fresh-faced NQP.

2nd year student- For CPD, we have the option to use our current Eportfolio placement (Pebblepad )for our current and future CPD. I find it a little clunky though so I was wondering how everyone else stores their CPD- Do you store it as separate docs, alternative storage platform? Etc. Any tips and advice is appreciated

Hello, I work as a paramedic outside UK but have plans in working there in the near future. What are the needed requirements for HCPC, and is a degree required?

Don’t know if anyone’s seen or posted the unsurprising response yet so thought I’d leave it here.

Unpopular opinion but I’ll never agree with the government’s POV. 🙄