Switchboard Operator

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.

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.

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. 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.

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. 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. Service