Job overview

Volunteer Opportunity within the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust

This is an exciting opportunity to become a Community Welfare Responder. 

Community Welfare Responders

Community Welfare Responder (CWR) volunteers are trained and equipped to support the Welsh Ambulance Service NHS Trust (WAST) delivery of urgent care for patients and service users in their community. CWRs are enabled to provide clinical observations and welfare support to patients/service users. CWRs will also be trained in basic lifesaving skills and use of an automatic external defibrillator (AED). This is integral for strengthening the WAST contribution to community resilience.

Main duties of the job

CWRs in Wales are volunteers who donate their spare time to attend appropriate emergency calls and provide accurate and up-to-date clinical information to remote clinicians in our Ambulance Control Centres. The remote clinician will then supplement their clinical assessment with the information provided by the CWR and determine the most appropriate care plan for that patient.

Our CWRs are alerted to an emergency call via a handheld mobile device from one of our three Regional Ambulance Control Centres. Our volunteers will drive to the address of the incident, under normal road conditions, and will always adhere to the Highway Code. Our volunteers will not be permitted to drive under emergency conditions or use blue lights.

The role of the CWR is an initiative under the Connected Support Cymru project, and an integral part of our long-term strategic ambition in ‘Delivering Excellence’. The CWRs play a key role to ensure that patients receive the right advice and care, in the right place, every time.

Working for our organisation

Who can apply?

You do not need to have any previous medical training to become a Community Welfare Responder (CWR). We will provide full training and encourage anyone who has the time and desire to help and give back to their community to apply.

Volunteers must:

• Possess a full UK driving licence (max 3 penalty points) and have access to a vehicle.
• Be 18 or over
• Be physically fit
• Work well under pressure and remain calm in an emergency
• Be proud of their community and want to give something back
• Have free time to spare

If this is something that interests you, then we would love to hear from you!

What happens if my application is successful?

Should your application be successful, you will be invited to a CWR onboarding event on the following dates:

• Monday 20th January 2025  Matrix One Swansea  

                                                                   OR

• Tuesday 4th February 2025 at Beacon House Cwmbran

During the recruitment event we will be holding a short presentation followed by an informal discussion to get to know each candidate and their suitability to become a CWR.

The CWR training course will comprise of two full days of training on the dates below:

• Saturday 15th and Sunday 16th March 2025 at Matrix One Swansea

                                                                           OR

• Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th March 2025 at Beacon House Cwmbran 

All new volunteers MUST be able to attend ONE recruitment event and ONE of the training weekends listed above - we will therefore take your application as confirmation of your availability. 

The Trust actively seeks to recruit and appoint people currently under represented in the workforce. This includes women, people with disabilities, LGBT, and those from minority ethnic groups. All staff are encouraged and supported to learn Welsh. Please be sure to provide full contact details for all referees, including email addresses where possible. Failure to do so may result in significant delays in your application.

To work in the UK, all candidates who are not UK or Republic of Ireland (RoI) nationals require sponsorship to obtain either a Health and Care visa or Skilled Worker visa, unless you have permission to work via another route. Non UK / RoI candidates wishing to apply should self-assess the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship by visiting Work in the UK.  If you are eligible for the Health and Care visa, application costs are lower and you do not need to pay the annual Immigration Health Surcharge.