Switchboard Operator

The job role within the switchboard office is varied, our priority is answering the telephone calls, we receive on average 28,500 a month, the calls come into the switchboard via different lines and are answered in the following order, The Emergency Calls, The Emergency Communication Calls, The GP Calls, the External Calls, The Internal Calls and each operator has their own internal extension.

The high priority call to answer is the Emergency line, we receive on average 500 Emergency Calls each month. On many occasions these emergency's calls are not straight forward and we have to use our initiative to get a good outcome.

The shift patterns that someone could expect for a role in switchboard are

06.00-14.00

14.00-22.00

22.00-06.00

Main duties of the job

Some of the responsibilities you will have are:

• Emergency calls that are made to the switchboard, these are usually via a 2222 call, these include Maternity Emergencies, Paediatric Emergencies, Cardiac Arrests, Stroke Alerts, Stroke Thrombolysis, Massive Blood Loss, Traumas and RPI's. These groups are tested on a daily basis to ensure all emergency bleeps are working correctly, following an emergency call we are responsible for getting the on-call teams to the right place, procedures vary slightly in hours and out of hours.
• External Emergency calls to the Fire Brigade and Police.
• On- call Rotas for all departments within the trust, we check these rotas on a daily basis and transfer this information onto our Doctors Board and issue a daily on call list to various individuals across the trust.
• The booking of contract taxis, these can be to take a patient home, to take patients medication or belongings home, arrange the transfer of pathology samples to other hospitals, to transfer staff who are working at other trusts or collecting staff who have gone on a transfer with a patient to another hospital, we also book the contract taxis for the psychic liaison team for patients who are being discharged from A & E.
• Issuing of Loan Alertive devices
• Assisting Site Manager for issuing Radios to the on- call teams in the event of switchboard or bleep system failure.

About us

BeKnown at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust. By us. By our patients. By our community

We are a busy, friendly, rural NHS Trust providing high-quality care and compassion to more than a quarter of a million people across west Suffolk. We care for, treat and support people in hospital, at home and in various community settings.

The West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds provides acute and secondary care services (emergency department, maternity and neonatal services, day surgery unit, eye treatment centre, Macmillan unit and children's ward). It has 500+ beds and is a partner teaching hospital of the University of Cambridge.

Adult and paediatric community services, provided in collaboration with West Suffolk Alliance partners, include a range of nursing, therapy, specialist, and ongoing temporary care and rehabilitation, some at our Newmarket Community Hospital.

We do our utmost to achieve outstanding clinical outcomes for patients and our values of fairness, inclusivity, respect, safety and team work guide how we work and behave as a team.

With nearly 5,000 staff, from all over the world, we strive to make our organisation a great place to work. Whatever your role or ambition, we want to help you be the best you can be.

We promote a diverse and inclusive community where everyones voice counts and you can BeKnown for whoever you are.

Join us. What will you BeKnown for?

Details

Date posted

14 October 2026

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 3

Salary

£25,760 to £27,476 a year

per annum pro rata

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Part-time,

Flexible working

Reference number

179-8310271-F

Job locations

West Suffolk Hospital

Hardwick Lane

Bury St Edmunds

IP33 2QZ

United Kingdom

Job responsibilities

Job responsibilities

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE at A-C (or equivalent) qualifications
• Basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

Desirable

• NVQ in Customer Services, or willing to work towards.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a customer service role/environment.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a switchboard environment.
• Experience of working in an acute hospital environment.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Good communication skills with the ability to develop effective working relationships throughout the organisation
• Good organisational skills and the ability to address and develop solutions to problems
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of team.
• Evidence of good written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to follow written instructions and procedures
• Good attention to detail.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to work alone, unsupervised, whilst remaining able to prioritise conflicting demands.
• Ability to cope with demanding and pressured situations.
• Flexible approach to working hours and duties.
• Dedication and commitment to the team.
• Customer focused with a excellent telephone manner.
• Approachable and tactful.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE at A-C (or equivalent) qualifications
• Basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

Desirable

• NVQ in Customer Services, or willing to work towards.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a customer service role/environment.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a switchboard environment.
• Experience of working in an acute hospital environment.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Good communication skills with the ability to develop effective working relationships throughout the organisation
• Good organisational skills and the ability to address and develop solutions to problems
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of team.
• Evidence of good written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to follow written instructions and procedures
• Good attention to detail.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to work alone, unsupervised, whilst remaining able to prioritise conflicting demands.
• Ability to cope with demanding and pressured situations.
• Flexible approach to working hours and duties.
• Dedication and commitment to the team.
• Customer focused with a excellent telephone manner.
• Approachable and tactful.

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

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Suffolk Hospital

Hardwick Lane

Bury St Edmunds

IP33 2QZ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

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

Employer details

Employer name

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

Address

West Suffolk Hospital

Hardwick Lane

Bury St Edmunds

IP33 2QZ

United Kingdom

Employer's website

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

Job responsibilities

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE at A-C (or equivalent) qualifications
• Basic skills in literacy and numeracy.

Desirable

• NVQ in Customer Services, or willing to work towards.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working within a customer service role/environment.

Desirable

• Experience of working in a switchboard environment.
• Experience of working in an acute hospital environment.

Skills/Knowledge

Essential

• Good communication skills with the ability to develop effective working relationships throughout the organisation
• Good organisational skills and the ability to address and develop solutions to problems
• Ability to work on own initiative and as part of team.
• Evidence of good written and verbal communication skills.
• Able to follow written instructions and procedures
• Good attention to detail.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Ability to work alone, unsupervised, whilst remaining able to prioritise conflicting demands.
• Ability to cope with demanding and pressured situations.
• Flexible approach to working hours and duties.
• Dedication and commitment to the team.
• Customer focused with a excellent telephone manner.
• Approachable and tactful.