Switchboard Operator

To work as part of a team which provides comprehensive, high quality switchboard/call handling service to Oxford University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. As a major trauma centre (MTC) the hospital is responsible for care of the most severely injured patients involved in a major trauma for a wide variaety of specialist clinical services. The Switchboard Service has a key function for supporting such emergency responses.

Switchboard Operators are the first point of contact by telephone with the Trust, and can answer general queries regarding the organisation and/or direct callers to the correct department. The Team boasts a breadth of knowledge around key contacts and functions across the Trust and all its sites which supports this.

Working as part of team, the post-holder will acquire the skill of receiving emergency calls and coordinating alert to emergency response staff for the Trust's 4 acute hospital sites. In case of clinical emergency or major incident, the actions of the Switchboard Operator contribute to ensuring that all relevant clinical and operational expertise is alerted promptly. In this way, the functions of the post-holder may contribute directly to health outcomes and/or safe management of incidents.

Main duties of the job

Call Handling

Answer calls to switchboard in a polite & correct manner

Understand fully how to use the switchboard console

Respond quickly & calmly to all alarms and initiate emergency procedures

Ensures card activated doors are open in emergency conditions.

Log all emergency call details and monitor the alarms implement the appropriate procedure.

Call security for inbound helicopters.

Be responsive to varying levels of switchboard traffic

Understanding technical information on screen

Report faults to the appropriate service provider out of hours.

Provide general information to members of the public

Provide information for colleagues on incoming shift

Operate University Clinical Trials computers, inputting data, changing appointments, recording any problems & where necessary contacting on call staff

Bleep management

• Operation of multitone bleep system including various types of bleeps


• Divert bleeps as requested


• Keep up to date bleep information


• Provide batteries


• Testing Speech/Team bleeps on a daily basis


Radio Pagers

• Understand different types of pager & how to access them


• Provide batteries


• Follow Trust policy and procedures relating to:

+ Responding to calls
+ Dealing with emergency calls
+ Major incident procedure
+ Cardiac and fire procedures
+ Follow data protection act
+ Health & Safety
+ Exchange bleep and radio pager batteries


• GCSE or Equivalent


• Excel, Word and Outlook Knowledge


Desirable criteria


• Previous Switchboard experience
  
  Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research.


The Trust comprises of four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel., Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest NHS teaching trusts in the country. It provides a wide range of general and specialist clinical services and is a base for medical education, training and research. Find out more here www.ouh.nhs.uk

The Trust comprises four hospitals - the John Radcliffe Hospital, Churchill Hospital and Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre in Headington and the Horton General Hospital in Banbury.

Our values, standards and behaviours define the quality of clinical care we offer and the professional relationships we make with our patients, colleagues and the wider community. We call this Delivering Compassionate Excellence and its focus is on our values of compassion, respect, learning, delivery, improvement and excellence. These values put patients at the heart of what we do and underpin the quality healthcare we would like for ourselves or a member of our family. Watch how we set out to deliver compassionate excellence via the OUH YouTube channel