Team leaders in ambulance services are responsible for overseeing crews, equipment, and meeting performance targets. They must understand each person's capabilities and provide effective leadership. As capabilities include paramedic response, triage, treatment, transport, decontamination, search and rescue, firearms response, and air ambulance, team leaders must make quick decisions to deploy the right response. For minor incidents, team leaders manage frontline operations, but also provide tactical support for major incidents. Poor leadership can endanger patients and staff, lower morale, result in inadequate training, and cause legal and reputational issues for the service.

1. Ambulance Services
Roles & Responsibilities
of a Team Leader
Chris Harrold
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2. Service Capabilities
Specific capabilities that the Ambulance Service can provide include the following:•Paramedics and Emergency Medical Technicians crewing Ambulances or Solo responder vehicles (Cars ,
Motorbikes and Pedal Cycles)
•Advanced Paramedics and Emergency Care Practitioners
•Incident Management including Patient Triage, Emergency medical treatment and transport to definitive care
•Temporary Structures (Casualty, Clearing and Decontamination facilities)
•Clinical Decontamination
•Hazard Area Response Teams (HART)
•Urban Search and Rescue, Inland Water Rescue, Inner Cordon Response & Safe Working at Height
•Specialist Response to Firearms Incidents
•Inter-agency Liaison Officers (N-ILO)/Tactical Advisors
•Radiation Protection Supervisors/Advisors
•BASICS/Medical Advisors
•Community Responders
•Air Ambulance

3. Role of a Team Leader
Team Leaders in the Ambulance Service are responsible for looking after their crew, equipment and control
rooms. They also ensure that Key Performance Indicators are met and oversee the ongoing training &
development of their team.
Effective leadership requires Team Leaders to have a clear understanding of the capability of each person in
their team and what leadership style is most suited to each individual or occasion.
An ineffective Team Leader can result in the following problems occurring:•Staff may not be as well trained or equipped; this may result in their patients not receiving the best medical
treatment as soon as possible. This may ultimately result in serious longer term consequences or even death for a
patient.
•Poor communication between the Team Leader and their crew may result in the crew placing themselves or their
patients in danger. Good communication is particularly important in a Major Incident when there will be multiple crews
and other services also in attendance.
•May use poor judgement and make bad decisions i.e. about moving the patient.
•Poor morale in their team resulting in team members becoming disengaged and inefficient. This may result in
individuals leaving the team or Service and a failure to meet agreed performance.

4. Team Leader Responsibilities
•Provides emergency care, responds to emergency, urgent & routine calls
•Monitors staff attendance, deals with staffing & resource issues
•Investigates and deals with complaints
•Disciplinary
•Making quick decisions
•Clear judgement and decision-making
•To instigate a command and control structure
•To protect the health, safety and welfare of all health service personnel on site
•Ensure that a log of all actions and communications are kept
•Provide post incident welfare and debriefing for all of its staff involved in the incident
•Allocate a Safety Officer – responsible for the H & S of ambulance and NHS personnel on site

5. Command Structures
Incidents are categorised dependant on their potential seriousness as Bronze, Silver or Gold.
Team Leaders will normally be in charge of Bronze Incidents such as Car crashes with few potential
casualties.
The role of the Team Leader in a Bronze Incident would be to:•
Manage front line operations at the scene.
•
Assess the risks posed to responders with the potential to save a saveable life
•
Implement safe systems of work
•
Manage front line operations and tactical plan
•
Assess need for further resources
Team Leaders also provide tactical support for Silver & Gold Incidents.

6. Conclusion
Effective leadership is a vital requirement for a Team Leader in the Ambulance Service and enables crews to respond
to emerging threats quickly & safely.
Poor leadership can:•Put patients and team members at risk
•Result in poor morale
•Result in poorly trained staff & crews
•Result in failure to achieve agreed goals
•Cause reputational damage and lack of confidence in the Service
•Leave the Service open to law suits if negligent in their duties.

7. Conclusion
Effective leadership is a vital requirement for a Team Leader in the Ambulance Service and enables crews to respond
to emerging threats quickly & safely.
Poor leadership can:•Put patients and team members at risk
•Result in poor morale
•Result in poorly trained staff & crews
•Result in failure to achieve agreed goals
•Cause reputational damage and lack of confidence in the Service
•Leave the Service open to law suits if negligent in their duties.