Part time Switchboard Operator

At East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust our vision is to be widely recognised for providing safe, personal and effective care. We currently provide high quality services and treat over 600,000 people across East Lancashire and the surrounding area. We employ over 9,500 staff, many of whom are internationally renowned and have won awards for their work.

Job overview

We are looking to recruit a part-time member of staff to join a small and friendly team providing switchboard services for Westmorland General Hospital, Furness General Hospital and the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. The switchboard, based at Westmorland General Hospital is a 24hour service provided over 7 days a week.

Average weekly hours are 23.3hrs. Shift hours do vary either 8am to 3.30pm, 3.30pm to 9.30pm or some weekends 8.45am to 6pm, but will be known in advance. You will also be required to assist with cover for absences which in general will be planned.

Main duties of the job

First point of contact for all enquiries including internal and external callers, making decisions about the most appropriate referral point.

Support responses to emergencies, contacting and liaising with Medical Staff and Senior Managers on call. This includes responding to emergency crash calls (i..e. adult & paediatric cardiac crash calls, fire, major incidents) covering all hospital sites.

Follow procedures for on-call arrangements for UHMBT and other NHS organisations .

Demonstrate sensitivity, calmness, compassion and empathy with callers who may be patients, visitors or staff who may be anxious or angry .

Report to and liaise with Estates and I3 staff when faults occur with key equipment.

Arrange for or provide cover for sickness out of hours or, in the absence of the Assistant Facilities (Switchboard) Manager. This entails contacting colleagues from the staff list for availability at short notice.

Make bookings for the most costs effective ad hoc transport (taxis, Blood Bikers, ad hoc transport services) .

Provide an access/ egress service for the WGH main hospital site overnight.

Monitor the security cameras in Switchboard and if felt necessary ( i.e. Urgent Treatment Centre), contacting the Police.

The post holder will be required to undertake all relevant training with current or new systems during their Probationary training period (6 months).

Working for our organisation

You can expect to be busy but will be joining a small, friendly and helpful team contributing to providing a valuable service to the local community and to the wider Healthcare system.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

General

Act as the first point of contact for all enquiries including internal and external callers whilst making decisions about the most appropriate referral point.

Communicate with internal and external contacts to support effective responses to emergencies, contacting Medical Consultants directly or escalating issues and providing information to Senior Managers on call.

Follow procedures for on-call arrangements for UHMBT and other Morecambe Bay NHS organisations including, One LSC, Community, Psychiatry and Commissioning Groups.

Demonstrate sensitivity, calmness, compassion and empathy whilst being polite and efficient with callers who may be patients, visitors or staff who may be anxious or angry, and may involve information, which is confidential, personal and sensitive.

Assist in coordinating responses to emergency crash calls (adult cardiac, adult trauma, paediatric arrest, paediatric trauma, obstetrics and neo-natal) fire, major incidents, security or bomb alerts, covering all hospital sites.

Liaise with and support all levels of Estates and I3 staff when faults occur with key equipment.

Arrange for and provide cover for sickness out of hours or in the absence of the Assistant Facilities (Switchboard) Manager. This entails contacting colleagues from a central staff list for availability at short notice.

Receive and make bookings for ad hoc transport (taxis, Blood Bikers, ad hoc transport services) selecting the most cost-effective service to use to ensure transportis available in a timely fashion.

Outside office hours

Provide an access/ egress service, carrying out identity checks, for the WGH main hospital site overnight through either the main front hospital door or via the rear staff entrance, supporting the safety and security of the hospital and all persons present.

Monitor the security cameras in Switchboard and if felt necessary or requested by others ( i.e. Urgent Treatment Centre), contacting the Police.

Take calls from the RLI patient / visitor car park system on Ashton Road to let vehicles out by raising the exit barrier.

Due to the complexity of the Organisation and the large amount of information and detail required for an effective service the post holder will be required to undertake all relevant training with current or new systems during their Probationary training period (6 months

Person specification

Essential and desirable

• 5 GCSEs or equivalent including C in English
• Calm and professional
• Experience of working with the general public
• Customer Care training or experience

Dear Potential Applicant,

It is important you are made aware of the following as regards your application to East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust

• Please note that the salary advertised is for full time hours. If this post is less than 37.5 hours per week, the salary will be pro-rata. For posts on Agenda for Change pay-scales, new entrants to the NHS will normally commence on the first pay point of the relevant band.
• This vacancy may close before the closing date if the recruiting manager deems sufficient applications have been received. Therefore it is advised to complete your application as early as possible to avoid disappointment.
• Please ensure you check the email account from which you apply regularly as we will use this to contact you regarding your application.
• Please note that shortlisting is completed anonymously with candidates being assessed against the essential criteria for the post. Therefore only applicants, who can clearly demonstrate how they meet our person specification criteria in their application, will be short-listed.

Disclosure and Barring Scheme (DBS)

If the role you are applying for is identified as either controlled or regulated activity as defined in in the Safeguarding vulnerable Groups Act (2006) any offer of employment is provisional upon a satisfactory DBS check being obtained.

The healthcare sector is exempted from the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974.

In line with other NHS organisations in the North West Region, the Trust is now passing the charge for undertaking a DBS check on to candidates in the event they are successfully appointed into the post for which they have applied. Candidates can choose whether to pay this over 1-3 months as a deduction from the monthly salary. However, if you are applying for a post as a BANK worker, the payment must be made in full at the time of employment checks. By applying for this vacancy you are agreeing to this undertaking in the event you are successfully appointed.

The cost of an Enhanced Disclosure will be £55.38 and for a Standard Disclosure will be £27.38.

This cost is not applicable for a Volunteer post

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The Trust is an equal opportunities employer, committed to improving the working lives of our staff and operates a \’Zero Tolerance\’ policy to aggression, violence, bullying and harassment. In addition, our aim is to help protect children and vulnerable adults by providing a first-class service to the recruitment of people into positions of trust.

We aim to employ a workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of ethnic origin, gender, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, marital status, disability or social background.

We especially welcome applications from members of our black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, as we have identified that ELHT has an under-representation of BAME employees. Appointments will be made on merit.

Applicants who have a disability and meet the essential criteria for the job will be interviewed if you indicate you wish to be considered under the Guaranteed Interview Scheme.

If you require a reasonable adjustment at any stage of the recruitment process please make the recruitment services team aware as soon as possible. By telephone 01254 732075 or email admin.recruitment@elht.nhs.ukor write to Employment Services, Parkview Offices, Haslingden Road, Blackburn, BB2 3HH

Employer certification / accreditation badges

This post will require a submission for Disclosure to be made to check for any unspent criminal convictions.

Application numbers

This vacancy may close early if it receives a high number of applications. Please complete and submit your application in good time to avoid disappointment.

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