Switchboard Operator

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job Purpose

The purpose of the Switchboard Operators job is to operate the telephony and related equipment within the Switchboard Department and maintain an accurate record of on call staff. In addition, the Switchboard Operator monitors alarm systems, operates the hospital 2222 emergency telephone system and distributes accommodation keys.

The post holder will be responsible, working in conjunction with the other Switchboard Operators, or alone (dependent on the shift), for the provision of a comprehensive switchboard service to internal and external callers.

The Switchboard Operator is required to develop awareness of Trust policies and procedures, geographical knowledge of the site and dependent sites, as well as awareness of events within the Trust.

The department plays a crucial role in the running of the hospital by providing a continuous communication service both for Trust Staff and users of the services the Trust provides, utilising internal and external communications available.

Job Statement

To respond promptly to all incoming external and internal calls effectively in accordance with departmental and Trust standards, being able to use tact and diplomacy where circumstances arise and to be able to use own initiative when dealing with calls of a complex and difficult nature such as challenging callers.

The Switchboard Department is in operation 24 hours per day, 365 days per year and can be manned by a lone Switchboard Operator up to 50% of the operational hours.

The workload can be unpredictable at times, the Switchboard Operator is required to remain calm and focused interpreting the on-call rotas and paging.

1. Communication and Relationships

• The post holder is required to communicate with members all callers to the hospital Switchboard, their colleagues, managers and other staff within the Integrated Care Hub.
• They are expected to regularly attend staff meetings and other information sharing events as required by departmental managers.
• The post holder is expected to provide information about their role and calls taken and as required by departmental managers.
• There is a requirement to provide selected information to callers requiring information on a patient location, duty rotas, on call staff and any general information that may be required, using information to hand and in line with Trust information governance rules.
• It is necessary for the Switchboard Operator to answer the 2222 telephone and follow the correct procedure for the situation they are informed of in the call received. In this situation, it is essential that speed and accuracy are used to ensure that the appropriate resource is deployed to the internal emergency. If the required personnel do not respond it is a requirement of the Switchboard Operator to locate the member of staff, deploy them to the scene and then to report the incident as appropriate.
• In a situation where more than one 2222 calls come through to Switchboard at the same time, the Operator must relay the details of the call as necessary to the teams required, it may be required for the team to split in two to deal with two similar emergencies at the same time.

1. Analysis and Judgement

• There is a responsibility of the post-holder to report any faults of abnormal situations via the incident reporting procedure and to also report these as appropriate to a departmental manager.
• Tact, diplomacy and empathy are required when dealing with callers as is knowledge of available options and an ability to analyse and deal with the situation appropriately.

1. Planning and Organising

• The Switchboard Operator is required to understand all rotas the Trust on-call rota systems (around 60 on-call rotas are held at a time), in order to forward calls to the appropriate member of staff. These rotas need to be updated as required throughout the day to reflect changing on-call arrangements within departments.
• It is necessary for the Switchboard Operator to receive information on the various on-call rotas in operation around the Trust. This information must be taken accurately either over the telephone or via email and used to update the electronic on-call board. It must be communicated to colleagues that the information has changed in order for them to update the version of the on-call board that they are using.
• There is a requirement to test the emergency bleep group calls on a regular basis, ensuring that all emergency team members have received the alert.
• In a major incident situation, the Switchboard Operator is expected to carry out the appropriate actions detailed in the Major Incident Plan and on their action cards, to include relaying messages and paging different disciplines by being a central point of contact.

1. Patient and Client Care

• The Switchboard Operator must undertake integrated Care Hub reception duties as required (the reception is manned for the most part in the in-hours period), to include distributing Spectrum Housing accommodation keys, distributing and collecting pool car keys, issuing and collecting pagers and bleeps as required and completing the necessary paperwork to accompany these tasks. This service will mainly be to Trust staff members calling at the reception.
• There is a requirement to issue master keys for hospital accommodation and outlying properties, recording their issue as appropriate and to locate missing keys as needed, this service is mainly provided to doctors and other hospital staff.
• There is no direct patient care involved in this role; involvement with patients is via the telephone.

1. Service and Policy Development

• The post holder follows Trust and local policies and is expected to comment on changes system and procedural changes within their own work area and assist in the development of ongoing effective working practices.

1. Managing Financial Resources

• There is no budgetary responsibility included in this role, however the post holder is expected to utilise Trust resources responsibly and in line with Trust policy.
• There will occasionally be the need to receive payment for hospital accommodation in the absence of the Spectrum Housing Manager out of hours; this should then be passed on to a manager as appropriate.

1. People Management and Development

• There is no line management responsibility required for this role, however, the post holder is expected to mentor and assist new members of Switchboard staff, guiding them until they are competent in their role.
• The post holder is expected to contribute towards the development of procedure and working practices and also to contribute their knowledge of the post and working practices to make assist in streamlining work processes.

1. Information System use and management

• The Switchboard Operator is responsible for updating and maintaining the system database to ensure that details held are up to date and accurate. This process is a critical function of the Switchboard set up and enables callers to be connected to the correct departments as necessary it is the responsibility of the whole Switchboard Team to ensure that records held are accurate and up to date at all times.

1. Involvement is Surveys and Research

• There is a requirement from this role to undertake daily testing of the emergency bleep system and alarm systems in use throughout the Trust. This task involves the completion of the necessary log sheets and collation at the end of each month, including sending to the central admin team or filing as required.

1. Freedom to Act and Autonomy

• The Switchboard Operator is required to work with standard procedures, and on occasions is required to review local policies and procedures and provide guidance to management on improvements that should be made to ensure an efficient and effective working environment.
• This is not an exhaustive list of duties, there may be other appropriate duties which the Switchboard Operator will be required to undertake from time to time in line with their job role.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• A good standard of education to include a minimum of four GCSEs grade A-C (including English and Mathematics)
• Qualification to Administration/Customer Service NVQ level 2 or equivalent knowledge gained through a combination of experience and short courses (evidence of this required)
• Evidence of competent use of IT systems to include, Word, Excel and Outlook (practical use of a range of IT systems and software would be advantageous)

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).

Employer details

Employer name

Isle of Wight NHS Trust

Address

St Mary's Hospital

Newport, Isle of Wight

PO30 5TG

Employer's website

https://www.iow.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)