East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Switchboard Operative - Ipswich

This job is now closed

Job summary

We are looking for two enthusiastic and well motivated people to join our switchboard team at Ipswich Hospital.

You must demonstrate the ability to work as part of a close-knit team, show a commitment to providing the highest standard of service and possess excellent communication skills.

1x 22.50 Hours Per Week 1x 30 Hours Per Week

Working within a 24hr, 7 day a week department, you will be required to work both flexible and varied shifts over the 7 day period. This will involve out of hours working, lone working, night duties and Bank Holidays so flexibility is paramount. There is no set shift pattern. In the coming months there will be the opportunity for home working.

To fulfil this post you will undertake 5 weeks 'on the job' training during which time you will be working a full 37.5 hour week until your training is complete. Your normal contracted hours will commence after this.

Main duties of the job

To provide an efficient and courteous first line support service to patients, public and staff as a member of the Trust's Switchboard, which operates 24 hours every day by participating in the shift rota.
To receive and direct telephone calls both internally and externally.
To act as the first point of contact for emergency calls of all types (cardiac arrest, fire and emergency lines) and monitor and respond appropriately to all the Trust's emergency systems.
To provide a 24 hr service to the Trust for the following services: Fire Alarms, Intruder Alarms, Plant/Gas Alarms, Bone Bank Alarms, Cook Chill Alarm & Lift Alarms. Administrators will action appropriate procedures when these alarms are activated. To monitor the trust CCTV system.
To provide support for Trust IT systems and applications, managing and escalating incidents in accordance with Service Level Agreements in conjunction with Trust support staff and third party support organisations.

About us

One of the largest Trusts in East Anglia, East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) provide hospital and community health services to people living across a wide geographical area. We deliver care from two main hospitals in Colchester and Ipswich, six community hospitals and in patients' own homes. You will be joining a team of almost 12,000 amazing colleagues providing care to approximately a million people.

Along with supporting you to achieve your career goals we offer a generous pension scheme, unsocial hours payments (if applicable), 27 days annual leave on commencement (pro rata) and access to a range of NHS discounts. Our Staff Health and Wellbeing programme offer a variety of services. We offer a range of flexible working opportunities.

Our philosophy is that Time Matters to everyone. Across the Trust, we concentrate on improving the things we do and removing those which do not work or cause time delays for our staff and patients.

To support our employees to achieve their career aspirations you may be eligible to obtain a qualification via an apprenticeship. All successful applicants will be required to undertake a skills review to facilitate this. For full details please see the attached Apprenticeship Handbook.

If you are passionate about patient care and want to develop your skills and knowledge then we are keen to hear from you.

Find out about living and working with us - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkPu7HphU8A

Date posted

08 February 2024

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£22,816 to £24,336 a year per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time

Reference number

432-HR2116-23

Job locations

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Rd

Ipswich

IP4 5PD

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Develop an understanding of the Trusts telecommunication systems and procedures to be able to respond appropriately to calls from staff, patients, the pubic and the media.
Develop an understanding of the Trusts IT applications in order to be able to advise users on any problems encountered, including understanding the functions of the communications infrastructure used by the Trust.
Develop an understanding of the Trusts Facilities support.
To monitor and respond to the Personal Mobile Radio system and Pearson Road help points.(Ipswich only).
Maintain a record of emergency incidents.
To operate the bleep system and investigate faults
To manage and advise the escalation routes for emergency procedures liaising with emergency services as necessary eg missing persons, Majax call outs, security incidents etc.
Manage storage of recorded media, monitoring, viewing and logging incidents that are observed. Monitor CCTV and instigate appropriate action. There may be a requirement to attend court to give evidence of authentication of CCTV recordings. (This is only required at the IHT Site)
Maintain up to date technical knowledge of major operating systems and applications.
Maintain awareness of commercial developments in communications, applications software, hardware and architecture, in order to contribute to ongoing technical improvements.
To process service requests from user.
To undertake general administration duties
Carry out any other related and relevant duties requested by the Switchboard Manager.

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key Responsibilities:

Develop an understanding of the Trusts telecommunication systems and procedures to be able to respond appropriately to calls from staff, patients, the pubic and the media.
Develop an understanding of the Trusts IT applications in order to be able to advise users on any problems encountered, including understanding the functions of the communications infrastructure used by the Trust.
Develop an understanding of the Trusts Facilities support.
To monitor and respond to the Personal Mobile Radio system and Pearson Road help points.(Ipswich only).
Maintain a record of emergency incidents.
To operate the bleep system and investigate faults
To manage and advise the escalation routes for emergency procedures liaising with emergency services as necessary eg missing persons, Majax call outs, security incidents etc.
Manage storage of recorded media, monitoring, viewing and logging incidents that are observed. Monitor CCTV and instigate appropriate action. There may be a requirement to attend court to give evidence of authentication of CCTV recordings. (This is only required at the IHT Site)
Maintain up to date technical knowledge of major operating systems and applications.
Maintain awareness of commercial developments in communications, applications software, hardware and architecture, in order to contribute to ongoing technical improvements.
To process service requests from user.
To undertake general administration duties
Carry out any other related and relevant duties requested by the Switchboard Manager.

For full details of the responsibilities and duties of this role please see the attached job description.

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

Minimum GCSE or equivalent, including Maths & English

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Excellent Communication Skills & Interpersonal Manner
Good written skills
Attention to detail

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Good knowledge of Microsoft Office systems and IT
Previous telephone experience
Proven Customer Support

Desirable

NHS/Hospital experience
Some knowledge of medical terminology

Person Specification

Education & Qualifications

Essential

Minimum GCSE or equivalent, including Maths & English

Skills & Abilities

Essential

Excellent Communication Skills & Interpersonal Manner
Good written skills
Attention to detail

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

Good knowledge of Microsoft Office systems and IT
Previous telephone experience
Proven Customer Support

Desirable

NHS/Hospital experience
Some knowledge of medical terminology

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.

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Rd

Ipswich

IP4 5PD

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Ipswich Hospital

Heath Rd

Ipswich

IP4 5PD

Employer's website

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