HART Operative ( and Candidate Pool)

East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

The closing date is 18 May 2025

Job summary

An opportunity has arisen for people to join the Hazardous Area Response Team Operatives ( and Candidate Pool) at Mansfield.

Looking for a new and exciting challenge? EMAS NHS Trust are seeking enthusiastic and motivated staff to join their Hazard Area Response Team (HART) appointable candidate pool, which is a continuing national initiative led by the NHS England, which enables clinical care to be delivered in areas previously inaccessible to the Ambulance Service. This pool will be used to fill vacancies across the following 12 months when opportunities arise.

The Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) is the generic term applied to staff recruited and trained specifically to operate within the inner cordon at an incident ("hot zone") or in hazardous environments. "Hot Zone" is defined as:

The Hot Zone is an area within the Inner Cordon where high concentrations of a substance are present and specific procedures and protocols, including Dynamic Risk Assessments, controlled access and egress and the wearing of appropriate levels of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) are required. Dependent on the type and nature of the hazard this area may contain live casualties who will need to be treated and prioritised for decontamination and evacuation" (National HART Work Standard Operating Procedures).

Main duties of the job

Successful applicants will receive the relevant training, pertinent to the full range of HART capabilities, through attendance of local or national courses.

HART Operatives are expected to be able to work in highly pressurised environments. Appropriate training, equipment and Personal Protective Equipment will be provided to mitigate against any risks, but individuals will need to be mentally and physically resilient to undertake the role.

You will need to be a Registered Paramedic with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have successfully completed a HCPC approved paramedic process.

If you have completed the NQP Pathway, this should be over a 2 year period obtaining experience in clinical practice, or less if progressed through the national fast track programme.

It will be necessary to demonstrate competence in team working, self-discipline, communication skills, adaptability, planning skills and decision making.

Due to the nature of the work and the constraints of the personal protective equipment, including gas-tight suits and extended duration breathing apparatus, a more stringent medical standard must be met.

All aspects of the recruitment and selection process must be successfully completed. Applications will be shortlisted against the requirements of the role. Those taken forward will be subject to an optical assessment, occupational health medical, physical fitness assessment, clinical assessment, competency based interview and DBS check.

About us

The EMAS Hazardous Area Response Team consist of 48 Paramedics trained and equipped to respond to patients with in the "Hot Zone".

The Unit is split into 6 teams of 7 HART Operatives with a HART Team Leader responsible for each team. This ensures we are able to maintain cover 24 hours a day.

The selection process will consist of:-

STAGE ONE

Shortlisting of applications

STAGE TWO

Please Note - You must be available to attend on the 3rd and 4th June 2025

To ensure you are capable and comfortable working in the Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and environments encountered during HART deployments we will put you through a series of scenarios over a two day assessment programme. You must successfully complete all elements of Day 1 before progressing to Day 2.

The assessments include:

Physical Competence Assessment (PCA)
Swimming Assessment
Clinical Assessment paper
Trauma/Advanced Life Support assessment
Confined Space/tunnel crawl
Breathing Apparatus appreciation wear
Ladder climb and abseil

STAGE THREE

Competency based Interview including scenarios

STAGE FOUR

Specialist Occupational Health Assessment (including Sight and Hearing).
Successful completion of 6 weeks residential training (Dates TBC) - Please note you must be available to attend 6 consecutive weeks at the start of your employment

Date posted

22 April 2025

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£37,338 to £44,962 a year PA

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

335-A-1774

Job locations

Operational Support Unit

Mansfield

NG18 5FA

Job description

Job responsibilities

Provide immediate health input to the initial assessment of the scene to meet the needs of Ambulance and Health Services, including casualty confirmation and management.

To provide specialist clinical support and knowledge within HAZMAT/CBRN, unstable terrain, at height or in/near water.Actively support and work with other members of the Team undertaking those tasks allocated by the HART Team Leader, or Incident Commander.

Be prepared to respond to national incidents, with the possibility of being away for unknown periods of time.

Direct, coordinate and deliver lifesaving clinical care for patients within the inner cordon including triage (where appropriate, toxic triage), diagnosis, appropriate treatment, prior to, and during, decontamination (if contamination present) and in situations of difficult access, unstable terrain or confined spaces, at times being the only clinician in situ and deliver casualties into mainstream healthcare.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Provide immediate health input to the initial assessment of the scene to meet the needs of Ambulance and Health Services, including casualty confirmation and management.

Be prepared to respond to national incidents, with the possibility of being away for unknown periods of time.

Person Specification

HCPC

Essential

HCPC registered Paramedic

Driving Licence

Essential

UK Driving License which must include category C1. No more than 3 points

Experience

Essential

Minimum of 2 years post registration operational experience and completion of NQP period

Desirable

ALS, PHTLS, PHEC or other advanced clinical courses.

Knowledge

Essential

Maintain and demonstrate continuous professional development in line with the paramedic role.

Person Specification

HCPC

Essential

HCPC registered Paramedic

Driving Licence

Essential

UK Driving License which must include category C1. No more than 3 points

Experience

Essential

Minimum of 2 years post registration operational experience and completion of NQP period

Desirable

ALS, PHTLS, PHEC or other advanced clinical courses.

Knowledge

Essential

Maintain and demonstrate continuous professional development in line with the paramedic role.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).