Switchboard Operator | Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

To assist in the provision of a comprehensive Telecommunications service to the Blackpool Hospitals.

The Telephonist post will be based at the Blackpool Teaching Hospital and you will be required to participate in a rotational shift pattern covering 24-hours/day and 365 days/annum including nights, weekends and public holidays. You will be required to work as a lone worker when covering the evening and night shift. Flexibility is essential as you may be required to change duties or work at short notice to cover for absences and holidays

We are looking for a highly motivated and experienced individual to join our well-established team of Telephonists. The team provides a service to both the Trust members and the general public, 24 hours per day, 365 days a year.

Within Switchboard there is a strong team environment but you will also be required to work as a lone worker when covering the evening and night shift. Flexibility is essential as you may be required to change duties or work at short notice to cover for absences and holidays.

Telephone operators assist in the provision of a comprehensive Telecommunications service to the Blackpool Hospitals.

One post available:

Bank Post

You may be required to work hours at short notice to cover for colleagues annual leave, sick leave and staff shortages which could include evening and night shifts.

You will be flexible, adaptable and able to work well within a team.

As part of the interview process you will be required to

demonstrate keyboard skills and complete a spelling test.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is ideally situated just a forty five minute drive from Manchester. The Trust provides services to the 440,000 residents of Blackpool, Fylde & Wyre and North Lancashire, as well as specialist tertiary care for Cardiac and Haematology patients.

As one of the United Kingdom's largest coastal resort, Blackpool has plenty to offer its residents - it's not just a good place to work; it's a great place to live. In addition to its bustling centre and historic seafront, the town is world famous for its many attractions, including the famous Blackpool Tower. Blackpool also offers a number of scenic cycling routes round our local parks and across the surrounding countryside, as well as boasting panoramic views of the coast on its picturesque Promenade. Further afield, Blackpool also benefits from less than three-hour connections via rail to Edinburgh in the north and London in the south.

The role is to respond to switchboard enquiries and queries from suppliers, staff/customers
and patients to provide assistance and advice as and where required.
Provide 24-hour flexibility (which from time to time will include the night shift) to cover
for colleague's annual leave and sickness absences and meet the requirements of
the service.
Receive and extend incoming calls to their relevant destination across the Telecoms
network.
Receive and record all emergency calls
Provide external telephone access for users across the telecoms network
Ensure that all personal telephone calls are monitored and accurately documented
Transfer internal callers to extensions across the telecoms network
Operate the radio system in accordance with guidelines
Operate the bleep system. Change faulty bleeps. Divert-undivert bleeps. Program
emergency teams. Ensure accurate documentation in relation to receiver/bleep
numbers.
Ensure individual operator performance targets laid down in the operators guide are
consistently met
Ensure comprehensive and accurate handover of relevant information takes place at
the commencement and end of each shift to maintain continuity of service
Provide assistance and work within the trusts guidelines to deal effectively with
patients/callers who may have speech, language or cultural differences
Ensure that a calming, sensitive approach is applied to those callers who are
distressed i.e. suicidal or very aggressive
Respond to all emergency calls (major incident, obstetric emergency, cardiac arrest,
bomb alert etc) and instigate all relevant documented procedures, in and out of
hours.

Instigate daily test calls to personnel programmed into emergency teams. Document
all responses. Highlight any issues resulting from these test calls.
Compile daily medical rota's for each specialty including medical management,
executive personnel and emergency teams, identify any inaccuracies which may
come to light during the course of the day and highlight to relevant personnel.
Ensure Rota' changes are accurate and legible. Ensure the completed daily Rota
and any additional amendments are distributed to relevant departments.
Assist with the task of updating the console database with new/amended
information.
Perform reception duties (where necessary) and deal effectively with all enquiries.
Attend Departmental staff meetings.
Provide an out of hour's service for the distribution and accurate recording of
information relating to accommodation keys and on call rooms. Deal with queries
relating to this service.
Provide an out of hour's service for the ordering of taxi's. Ensure precise instructions
are issued to the taxi operators and also make them aware of when taxis are
required in response to emergency situations. Ensure accurate documentation in
relation to this service.
Monitor all medical gas/intruder/personal attack alarms. Instigate relevant
documented procedures.
Ensure rota changes and information relating to chaplaincy and mortuary
arrangements are accurately documented.
Provide a professional, efficient admission and transfer service to GP's and other
agencies. Ensure the call is directed to the relevant specialty.
Provide patient location information to general public and outside agencies, following
current confidentiality guidelines.
To keep all work areas clean and tidy and be responsible for the cleaning of all
screens and keyboards as required

Participate in competency/training program for new staff.
To undertake any other duties that may be required appropriate to the post holders grade and experience.

Disability Confident
About Disability Confident
A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.