Call Assessor

Do you want to make a difference? Why not become a call assessor with us at a time when the NHS needs you the most.

We have two Emergency Operations Centres (EOCs) in the West Midlands; Brierley Hill in Dudley and a second control room in Stafford. When you call 999 in the West Midlands, it’s our call assessors who are the voice on the other end of the phone.

As a WMAS call assessor, you are the first point of contact and are responsible for ensuring the correct information is obtained from the caller, whilst offering advice or re-assurance sometimes under difficult circumstances. You will enter details into a computer system about the patient and their condition which categorises the seriousness of their illness or injury to ensure the patient receives the most appropriate care from us, this may be an emergency ambulance response, a telephone assessment by a clinician, a referral to an alternative care pathway or self care advice.

Call Assessor Neve talks about what it’s like being a Call Assessor;

Call Assessor Entry Requirements

The entry requirements for those interested in applying to become a Call Assessor are:

5 GCSE’s grade C or above (4 – 9) which must include English (or equivalent)
Call taking or customer service experience

Recruitment Process:

Once your application has been submitted via NHS Jobs, the dedicated shortlisting panel will review your application to determine whether or not you meet the entry criteria.

Should your application be shortlisted, you will be invited to an assessment day which will consist of a typing, dictation and critical thinking assessment. During these assessments you will listen to a recording and will be required to record the information contained as accurately as possible using both a PC and hand written documents. Following these assessments you will undertake a formal interview on the same day.

If successful, you will undertake up to 4 weeks classroom training followed by mentoring within the role before being signed off competent to work independently under your 6 months probationary period all whilst working towards and successfully achieving the standards required for:

Pathways Training
Emergency Call Training Module with written and practical assessments
Constantly achieving the Pathways standard for processing emergency calls
Undertake study to gain an understanding of different areas of medicine, basic anatomy & physiology and recognition of life threatening conditions.

The Training Process

Our Call Assessors go through a rigorous training programme before they are able to take live 999 calls. Emergency Operations Centre Tutor Suzanne Holland explains the process and gives some advice to those who have applied to be a call assessor.