Ambulance Care Assistant
Also advertised as: ambulance care assistant, Ambulance Care Assistant, Ambulance Driver, driver in patient transport services, driver of medical transportation vehicle, driver of patient transport vehicle
Transports patients safely to and from appointments, hospitals and care homes.
What the job involves
Ambulance care assistants drive and crew non-emergency patient transport vehicles, helping people who cannot travel independently to reach dialysis, chemotherapy or discharge destinations. The job needs a full driving licence and genuine patience, since many passengers are frail, anxious or in pain. It is a common entry point into a wider ambulance service career.
Typical responsibilities
- Drive patient transport vehicles safely
- Help patients in and out of vehicles
- Provide basic first aid when needed
- Keep vehicles clean and stocked
- Report incidents and delays
Common employers
- NHS ambulance trusts
- Private patient transport providers
Pay, hours and working environment
Typical pay
£22,000 – £25,000 a year
With experience
£26,000 – £29,000 a year
Typical hours
Shift work including weekends, typically 37.5 hours
Working environment
On the road and in vehicles
Remote working
on_site
Demand for this work
steady
Pay ranges are indicative guidance drawn from advertised UK vacancies and published careers information. They are not an offer, and actual pay varies by employer, location and experience.
Skills and qualifications
Core skills
- Safe driving
- Manual handling
- Customer care
- First aid basics
- Time management
Transferable skills you may already have
- Full UK driving licence experience
- Customer service
- Caring for vulnerable people
Requirements employers ask for
- Safe driving
- Manual handling
- Customer care
- First aid basics
- Time management
- Full UK driving licence
- Basic life support training
- Enhanced DBS check
- Full UK driving licence
- drive ambulance under non-emergency conditions
- maintain vehicle appearance
- comply with legislation related to health care
- transfer patients
- maintain vehicle service
- licences regulation
- complete patient journey records
- local geography
- transport allocated patients
- follow written instructions
- adhere to organisational guidelines
- follow verbal instructions
Useful but not essential
- Full UK driving licence experience
- Customer service
- Caring for vulnerable people
- First aid at work certificate
- Experience in a caring role
- health care legislation
- handle patients with special needs
- first aid
- communicate in foreign languages with health service providers
- assist social service users with physical disabilities
- empathise with the healthcare user
- apply numeracy skills
- older adults' needs
Helpful qualifications
- First aid at work certificate
- Experience in a caring role
Licences and checks
- Enhanced DBS check
- Full UK driving licence
Ways into this career
A degree is only one route. Where an apprenticeship, work-experience or qualification route exists, it is listed here alongside the academic option.
Apprenticeships and work-based routes
- Ambulance Support Worker (Level 3)
Degree and college routes
- Related subject: Health and social care
Where this career can lead
next
Emergency Care Assistant
next
Ambulance Technician
next
Paramedic (via further training)
The good parts and the hard parts
What people enjoy
- No degree needed to start
- Stepping stone into paramedic training
- Meaningful daily contact with patients
What people find hard
- Long hours behind the wheel
- Lower pay than clinical ambulance roles
Common questions
- Do you need a degree to become a ambulance care assistant?
- No. As well as degree routes, this career can be entered through an apprenticeship or by building experience and qualifications on the job. not_required
- How much does a ambulance care assistant earn in the UK?
- Typical advertised pay runs from £22,000 to £25,000 a year, rising towards £29,000 with experience. Figures are indicative guidance rather than an offer.
- What skills transfer into this career?
- Skills that transfer well include Full UK driving licence experience, Customer service, Caring for vulnerable people.
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Where this information comes from
- National Careers Service
- Institute for Apprenticeships
Last reviewed 14 September 2026.
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