Job overview

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

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. HART is a continuing national initiative led by 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 a team of 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 to be compliant the full range of HART capabilities. 

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 the role requires strong mental and physical resilience

You must be a Registered Paramedic with the Health Care Professions Council (HCPC) and have successfully completed an approved paramedic process with two years post registration experience in a frontline ambulance role. 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 via occupational health.

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, team working observations and DBS check.

Working for our organisation

The EMAS Hazardous Area Response Team consist of 48 Paramedics trained and equipped to respond to patients within risk areas. The Unit is split into 6 teams of 7 HART Operatives with a 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 - You must be available to attend on both 18 and 19 March 2026

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 will also undertake various clinical assessments.

You must successfully complete all elements of Day 1 to be invited 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
• Working at height confidence assessment
• Team based observation

STAGE THREE - You must be available to attend on 25 March 2026

• Team based clinical assessment

STAGE FOUR

• Specialist Occupational Health Assessment (including Respiratory, Sight and Hearing etc).
• Pre employment checks including references, DBS and qualifications
• Successful completion of 6 weeks residential training – Please note you must be available to attend 6 consecutive weeks at the start of your employment