Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Switchboard Operator Harefield Hospital

The closing date is 11 February 2026

Job summary

We are delighted to offer the opportunity for a reliable, friendly, professional and empathetic person to join our busy Switchboard Team, based at Harefield Hospital.

You will be the first point of contact for our community and will use your excellent communication and listening skills to signpost patients to the appropriate pathway.

You will be dealing with patients, relatives and clinical staff, directing their calls to the relevant departments. You will also coordinate calls to the hospital emergency teams and following processes for alerting Cardiac Arrests, Trauma Calls and Major Incidents. As you will be dealing with emergency calls, you should have the ability to deal with situations in a calm and professional manner.

You must demonstrate the ability to work as part of a close-knit team, show a commitment to providing the highest standard of service and possess excellent communication skills.

Please note due to high response rate we sometimes close adverts early and we advise you apply as early as possible.

Main duties of the job

Be the first point of telephone contact for patients and other service users
Make and receive calls as required following procedures and policies previously agreed with the Switchboard Manager.
Respond to emergency calls, alarms and incident procedures/gas and plant alarms and follow Telecom failure procedure.
Deal and coordinate time critical calls for medical emergencies (crash calls), fire alarms, security and intrusion alarms.
Process bleep calls, connecting Hospital staff with other clinicians.
Work as part of a small team to deliver a quality telephony service to our community

About us

Working for your organisation

On 1st February 2021 the Royal Brompton and Harefield Hospitals became part of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust - a truly once-in a generation development. Together, we are taking our first steps towards our vision of creating a brand-new centre of excellence, which will be the global leader in the research into and treatment of heart and lung disease in patients from pre-birth to old age. We are developing some exciting plans and we want you to join us - so come and help to change the shape of healthcare for our heart and lung patients world-wide.

This position is based at Harefield Hospital but you have the opportunity to work across any of our sites if the service requires it.

Date posted

03 February 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£29,651 to £31,312 a year Per Annum Inclusive of Outer London HCA

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

12 months

Working pattern

Full-time, Part-time, Job share, Compressed hours

Reference number

196-A&C1209

Job locations

Harefield Hospital

Hill End Road

Harefield

UB9 6JH

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the Job Description and Person specification for further details, ensuring that you meet the essential criteria.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the Job Description and Person specification for further details, ensuring that you meet the essential criteria.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifcations

Essential

Good standard of education i.e. GCSE's or equivalent

Desirable

NVQ in customer care or equivalent

Experience & knowledge

Essential

Evidence of precious switchboard experience, preferably in an NHS environment

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Keyboard skills including MS Outlook. Computer literate

Desirable

Knowledge of switchboard specific telephony systems and/or bleep systems

Personal Qualities

Essential

Able to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, and evidence team working abilties

Person Specification

Education & Qualifcations

Essential

Good standard of education i.e. GCSE's or equivalent

Desirable

NVQ in customer care or equivalent

Experience & knowledge

Essential

Evidence of precious switchboard experience, preferably in an NHS environment

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Keyboard skills including MS Outlook. Computer literate

Desirable

Knowledge of switchboard specific telephony systems and/or bleep systems

Personal Qualities

Essential

Able to demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, and evidence team working abilties

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Additional information

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

Certificate of Sponsorship

Employer details

Employer name

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Harefield Hospital

Hill End Road

Harefield

UB9 6JH

Employer's website

https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/careers/careers.aspx (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Harefield Hospital

Hill End Road

Harefield

UB9 6JH

Employer's website

https://www.guysandstthomas.nhs.uk/careers/careers.aspx (Opens in a new tab)