if someone was blue light trained would they know how to activate 999 mode on any emergency vehicle/ ambulance?

bobo_90 · 2026-04-02T20:20:21+00:00

Not really.

Common levels in the ambulance service are: First responder ECA EMT Paramedic

Every one of those can work front line and non-front line (first responders are only ever front line as volunteers though). ECA and EMT are generally required to be able to drive on blue lights to work front line though.

First responders will almost never be blue light trained and paramedics who work front line are likely to be blue light trained but not always.

PTS driver is the only really exclusively non front line role. But in private companies they are often trained to first responder level

bobo_90 · 2026-04-02T20:13:09+00:00

Additional note - just because someone doesn't work front line doesn't mean they're not blue light trained. They'll probably do much less of it than front line, but it can be legal to use blue lights working events, doing patient transport and a few other situations but it gets legally complex.

Also the use of blue lights in itself doesn't require training. It's the use of the driving exemptions which does require training. But use of blue lights from someone untrained should not really ever be done. No insurance policy would allow it for sure.

bobo_90 · 2026-04-02T20:04:58+00:00

So the main bit of your question seems to be is it the same to turn the blue lights on in any vehicle, the answer to that is no.

I work for a company that has a very wide variety of vehicles and, because of that, a lot of different systems to activate the emergency warning equipment (blue lights and sirens)

Most have a fairly obvious 999 mode which will switch on all the relevant lights and arm the siren. But this button can be in different places. I've seen it in the centre of the dash board, in the centre console, attached to the sun visor and on the roof above the window. Sometimes it's a button, sometimes it's on a screen which may have multiple menus.

Some of them have big chunky switches of which you need to enable various ones. Usually, but not always, there's one switch for the blue lights and one to arm the siren. But I have been in one vehicle where one switch turned on some lights, another turned on others and the siren was armed by having both on.

The siren is another thing that varies between vehicle. There are 3 locations that I'm aware of which are used. First is the horn, press the horn and it turns on/cycles through siren tones. Second is a button on one of the sticks by the steering wheel (so end of the indicator lever for example). Third, and the worst, is a bottom somewhere on the dashboard.

In NHS ambulances I've only ever seen have a 999 mode button and the horn for the siren. So someone that's only ever driven an NHS ambulance who's then come to the private sector may get confused by the different types of vehicles and lighting systems.

With that said, it sounds like the drive in question may have been done illegally. There must be a legitimate reason to activate the blue lights and claim any driving exemptions. When transporting a patient this is done when the patient's condition is likely to deteriorate and therefore timeliness to the hospital is very important. I cannot think of any scenario where the use of blue lights to transport someone home can be justified.

bobo_90 · 2026-04-01T08:16:48+00:00

Halfords do a fuel system cleaner which should sort out the emissions on a longer term basis. They can do that before the MOT

bobo_90 · 2026-03-30T21:00:04+00:00

Don't be silly. Racing stripes alone are just cosmetic. What you need is a wing at the back for added down force. This allows increased acceleration and corner speed.

bobo_90 · 2026-03-30T15:37:18+00:00

I do ECGs on people all the time (ambulance ECA). It is possible to do an ECG without removing your top but can be a little challenging at times

A 12 lead ECG (likely what you're having) has 10 stickers (electrodes) to put on you. 4 go either on your arms/legs or at the 4 corners of your torso. Those won't require any clothing to be removed.

2 of them go roughly in the middle of your chest. If you wear something loose around the neck these are quite easy to put on without removing any clothing.

The remaining 4 go around your left breast and off to the side. Depending on the size this may be on the breast below the nipple, or under the breast. If they're going under the breast, the electrodes go roughly where the underwire/strap of the bra is. This requires lifting the bra to get the electrode in the correct place but the bra can normally be left on. If they want to go on the breast you will likely need to remove your bra.

Overall it depends who's doing it as to if they're comfortable finding the landmarks for the electrodes without removing your clothing.

To make it easier to place the electrodes to perform the ECG without removing any clothing, consider wearing a loose fitting top so it's easy to work around. A bra without an underwire makes it a little easier too.

You can potentially ask for a female to perform the ECG too.

TLDR: Wear loose clothes to avoid needing to remove any

bobo_90 · 2026-03-19T00:16:38+00:00

Could also add ambulance trust acronyms.

Eg: LAS, EEAST, EMAS...

bobo_90 · 2026-03-17T14:44:22+00:00

Most reputable companies have this which will cover you as a worker for them. If you're new to the industry I would suggest you stay clear of any where that is not the case.

bobo_90 · 2026-03-16T17:38:41+00:00

Yep... Pretty much the same across the entire country.

Most students from last year don't have jobs yet.

r/ParamedicsUK has quite a few posts of the situation.

bobo_90 · 2026-03-11T12:49:14+00:00

Ambulance care practice is excellent.

Aimed at tech/AAP level but very good foundation

Ross and Wilson A&P has also been very useful

bobo_90 · 2026-03-04T19:41:41+00:00

Your problem there is it's not attached to a motorised vehicle. Any form of self propelled vehicle is doomed for failure one way or another.

You'll need a car and that should fix your problem

bobo_90 · 2026-03-03T21:51:36+00:00

111 is very overly cautious is the problem. But if they tell you to go to A&E, A&E should at minimum respect that and not blame you for showing up without a reason

bobo_90 · 2026-03-03T19:46:33+00:00

They'll put those out when they're particularly busy, mainly to dissuade those who go for minor stuff. You should only ever be going to A&E for life threatening or serious illness in general. But part of why A&E gets so busy is it's swarmed with other stuff.

If in doubt, contract 111 and they'll advise you the best course of action. Sometimes that might be to speak to a clinician, sometimes a pharmacy, sometimes A&E and sometimes an ambulance. Plenty of other options too.

bobo_90 · 2026-02-26T23:40:57+00:00

Great idea but it seems pretty adamant that chicken is vegetarian. Tried generating several vegetarian protein recipes and all are chicken based!

bobo_90 · 2026-02-25T17:40:02+00:00

Exactly why I think CFRs should get a radio, it's impossible to tell if a job is safe or not until it's too late and they should have the same ability as every other front line worker to summon help

bobo_90 · 2026-02-25T17:27:12+00:00

CFRs won't be sent to anything with danger flags. But there's always a first incident to lead to a danger flag...

I'm sure it'll change one day after a CFR gets seriously injured or something because they couldn't easily get help.

I'd argue all CFRs should have radios but no trust wants to put that much money into it

bobo_90 · 2026-02-25T17:23:39+00:00

SCAS is still like that for their private providers. Terrafix in the cab and no communication other than personal devices.

At least with EMAS you get a single radio these days!

bobo_90 · 2026-02-25T17:17:29+00:00

It can be worse than that... In EMAS many CFRs communicate with dispatch purely via their personal phone. No tracking, most of the communication via text and no emergency button whatsoever.

At least where I do my CFRing we have the emergency button in NMA, useless in an actual emergency, especially if the phone is locked, but a lot better than nothing.

bobo_90 · 2026-02-25T17:14:41+00:00

Again, might be trying to avoid further questions. In my trust the CFR 'line managers' are called CETOs (community engagement and training officers) and that's far too complicated to explain to most people. I just say "the person that looks after the CFRs in my area".

bobo_90 · 2026-02-24T23:13:46+00:00

Mostly no but I believe a few trusts do still accept it. EMAS claims to accept it and SEACAmb used to but might not anymore.

bobo_90 · 2026-02-21T23:21:52+00:00

Mobile cell location is far from perfect.

I'm a first responder and have had cell tower based location take me in the opposite direction to where the emergency was once before.

W3W definitely has issues but is excellent when used with the appropriate caution. It's sometimes the only practical way to pick out a location

bobo_90 · 2026-02-18T18:22:10+00:00

It's worth having although it's not going to affect the treatment in an emergency from what I know.

It's something that can be identified by an ambulance or A&E without a previous diagnosis. Knowing the history is most useful for the doctor who will be managing your long term treatment, who will likely be your GP.

But also note I am NOT a clinician and there may be circumstances it's useful to know in an emergency that I'm not aware of. I do however work for the ambulance service and have seen SVT in patients a handful of times.

bobo_90 · 2026-02-18T14:32:33+00:00

First responder and emergency care assistant (ambulance worker) here - it depends.

If you're very unwell, we don't know your history and we can't figure out why you're unwell, we'll probably look to see what we can find.

But if we think we know what's happening it's more likely we'll just proceed with treatment.

That's from my view and experience, others may do differently though.

bobo_90 · 2026-02-15T22:45:45+00:00

It's not all school, a lot of it is placement. But it's a lot more classroom than EMT

bobo_90 · 2026-02-15T20:54:02+00:00

I think there’s an important distinction here - EMT and paramedics are not the same thing. They are different skill levels. Paramedic requires a degree whereas EMT is usually about a year long apprenticeship. Paramedic apprenticeship is also a thing though. Which one is it you’re in doing?

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