West Midlands Ambulance Service University NHS Foundation Trust

Head of Urgent Community Response

This job is now closed

Job summary

An exciting new role has been created for a Head of Urgent Community Response who will be the subject expert and hold responsibility for the Hear & Treat, See and Treat, Call before convey provisions and pathways with a particular focus on UCR portal referrals and utilisation.

As a senior leader, the post holder will be expected to work as part of a multi-disciplinary team to lead projects and initiatives from time-to-time, and to use a broad variety of methods to engage effectively with stakeholders from across the Trust as well as with senior stakeholders within the Health and Social Care communities.

Successful applicants must be HCPC Registered Paramedics, educated to MSc (Masters) level or have an equivalent level of knowledge, experience and competency and have 5 years experience in a senior leadership role.

Please refer to the job description & person specification for a full list of duties

All applicants that are successful will be required to attend an interview at Millennium Point Headquarters on Thursday 20th March 2025.

Main duties of the job

If this position involves a regulated activity, it will require an Enhanced Disclosure & Barring Service check. The disclosure will, where appropriate to the role, include information against the Independent Safeguarding Authority barred lists for working with children, adults or both

Where a Disclosure & Barring Service (DBS) check is required for the post, all applicants are required to cover the cost of the check. The cost of £55.76 for an enhanced check is payable to our online provider at the time that the DBS application is submitted. Upon receipt of your DBS you will then be required to sign up to the DBS online update service.

About us

We are committed to creating an inclusive, supportive, and accessible workplace for everyone where our colleagues feel empowered to succeed.

Each person plays a vital part to ensuring our organisation meets the differing needs of our communities ultimately enabling us to save lives. We acknowledge that a workforce that reflects the communities that it serves provide better patient care and we are therefore looking for self-motivated, enthusiastic people from all backgrounds that care about making a difference to our patients.

We are committed to diversity and inclusivity at all levels. We are proud to have maintained Disability Confident Leader status and as part of our commitments to this we guarantee to invite all applicants who meet the essential criteria for a role to attend assessment or interview. If you have a disability or learning difficulty, and prefer to disclose it, please feel free to do so in your application. You can also contact the Recruitment Team via email at recruitment@wmas.nhs.uk if you wish to have a confidential discussion. We use this information, with your permission, to ensure you are fully supported during the recruitment process.

We do endeavour to respond to all candidates on an individual basis. Therefore, we do ask for your co-operation and patience whilst the shortlisting process takes place. After the closing date please ensure you check your emails (including junk mail) regularly as contact is usually made via this method.

Date posted

06 March 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 8c

Salary

£74,290 to £85,601 a year

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

C9217-292-24-25

Job locations

Ambulance Headquarters

Waterfront Business Park

Brierley Hill

West Midlands

DY5 1LX

Job description

Job responsibilities

To lead on and fully implement Call before convey across the Trust

Responsible for improving 'hear and treat' rates and ensuring all 3 and 4 calls are clinically navigated, validated and where appropriate triaged in ambulance control centres, or in single points of access in line with existing guidance.

Improve the management of lower acuity patients overnight in their own home where they are assessed as suitable to wait for an alternative pathway.

Lead on reducing avoidable conveyances to Emergency Departments (ED). Aim to achieve this through increasing hear and treat, see and treat and conveyance to alternative healthcare provision for definitive care, such as Same Day Emergency Care (SDEC).

Lead on maximising the opportunity for patients to be appropriately managed without the need for conveyance to ED, including by engaging with partners and Urgent Care providers to maximise the number of appropriate patient referrals.

Responsible for improving access to urgent care services at home or in the community including urgent community response (UCR) and virtual ward (also known as hospital at home) services.

Reduce avoidable ambulance dispatches and conveyances to Emergency Departments (ED).

Build relationships with UCR teams to agree local improvements in see and treat rates and hear and treat rates.

Full engagement and compliance with the Cat 2 segmentation programme with the ultimate aim of reducing the Cat 2 incident volumes through evidence-based code changes.

Responsible for the line management of the clinical validation team including Personal Development Conversations and all employee relations issues such as sickness absence and disciplinary concerns.

Contribute to developing the strategic direction of the Trust and take shared responsibility for the performance of the organisation.

Work with colleagues, particularly the other heads of functions, to develop and maintain effective working arrangements with all key stakeholders, internally and those within the local health community, including commissioners and providers of health care services.

Ensure, in liaison with the IT department the satisfactory maintenance and development of all Control and Communication equipment and systems, including data input.

Ensure staff receive appropriate appraisal, consistent clinical audit, support with CPD and the prompt identification of training needs to maintain standards of performance and ensure optimum opportunities for staff development, maintaining records as appropriate.

Ensure, with due regard to Health and Safety and other related legislation, that Trust property, premises and vehicles are maintained in good condition at all times, and notwithstanding operational constraints, ensure as far as is practicable the physical security of those assets.

Monitor and control all expenditure with budgeted levels, preparing reports and statistical information as required.

Promote the Service and its activities within the area, liaising with other Emergency Services, Health Care staff, media and members of the public as necessary.

Develop close working relationships with outside agencies to ensure key objectives of the Trust are achieved.

Undertake such duties to support the modernisation and service development agenda of the Trust.

Maintain and be able to evidence continued professional development (CPD) via a personal command log including training competency records appropriate for both Strategic and Tactical roles.

Able to flex from office-based role having competent keyboard/VDU skills to an operational function where personal kit requires to be in a steady of readiness to respond for the Trust. Maintain PPE to a standard that protects from incremental weather and situations of risk (Motorways, building site etc).

Maintain competency in responding operationally for the organisation with roles as a Paramedic, Operational/tactical Commander. Ensuring driving license remains current and blue light response capability current and in line with organisational requirements.

Undertake projects as requested, including audit, research, evaluation, finance and production of final reports and implementation strategy.

Prepare and deliver reports and presentations to various bodies and committees both within WMAS and externally with frequent interruptions during preparation.

Ensure capability to competently use all Windows office based products, use of GRS rostering system, Teams 365 for document access/storage, data entry, audit, record keeping and connectivity.

Regularly deal with emotional and difficult circumstances, for yourself and others. This may include when responding to major incidents, dealing with members of the public or staff management issues.