South East Coast Ambulance Service 999 Call Handler: Role, Pay and How to Apply

Becoming a 999 Call Handler at South East Coast Ambulance Service

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is the ambulance service for south-eastern England, covering Kent (including Medway), Surrey, West Sussex, and East Sussex (including Brighton and Hove), plus part of north-eastern Hampshire around Aldershot, Farnborough, Fleet, and Yateley. Across roughly 3,600 square miles it handles over a million 999 calls and over a million NHS 111 calls every year. Its call handlers are the first point of contact in an emergency, and no medical qualification is needed to start.

What the Role Involves

The 999 call handler team at SECAmb — known internally as Emergency Medical Advisers — use the NHS Pathways triage system to assess the severity of each 999 call and provide life-saving advice while the ambulance response is on its way. You are trained to use NHS Pathways across a wide range of situations, from minor illness to life-threatening emergencies. The system guides your questioning, so your skill lies in extracting clear answers from callers under pressure and recording them accurately.

Where You Would Work and Train

SECAmb operates two Emergency Operations Centres where 999 calls are received, clinical advice is given, and emergency vehicles are dispatched. Training is provided in one of three locations: Crawley, Coxheath, or Ashford. Because the trust runs both 999 and 111 services at scale, there can be varied routes and locations depending on the vacancy.

Pay

The Emergency Medical Adviser role is graded on NHS Agenda for Change, typically at Band 3. Most of the SECAmb region sits outside the London High Cost Area, so base Band 3 rates generally apply — £24,937 rising to £26,598 for 2025/26 — although parts of the patch close to London may attract a fringe-zone supplement; always check the figure quoted in the advert. Unsocial-hours enhancements for nights, weekends, and bank holidays add to take-home pay. Our pay and bands guide explains how these stack up.

How to Apply

SECAmb call handler vacancies are advertised on the trust's recruitment site and NHS Jobs. Expect an online application with a supporting statement, online assessments, and a values-based interview. Prepare a tailored supporting statement, practise the assessment formats — you can try free demos of all six 999 call handler assessment tests — and ready your STAR examples. For comparison, see our guides to the London and East of England ambulance call handler roles. 999ready is an independent preparation resource and is not affiliated with South East Coast Ambulance Service; always check the official SECAmb careers site for current vacancies and requirements.