SPOC Telephone Advisor

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire); Luton; On-site; GBP 26,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire) is expanding its Single Point of Contact and Referral Management Service. The role supports processing referrals, handling telephone calls and providing administration support within a small, proactive team.

The SPOC/RMS role works with clinicians to determine the most effective patient care pathway, in a fast-paced environment across a service that operates 365 days a year from 8am to 9pm.

Qualifications

• Good level of education equivalent of NVQ Level 3 or above.
• Training in telephone call handling/ triage within health care setting.
• Experience of Referral Management & prioritization using agreed protocols within health care setting.
• Telephone triage within health care setting.

Responsibilities

• Handle incoming communications (telephone, email, letter) and determine urgency of referrals.
• Use information systems to establish urgent status of new referrals.
• Assist clinicians to process referrals and support pathways and protocols.

Skills

Telephone skills

Keyboard skills

IT systems

Under pressure

Customer care

Organisation

Education

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Job description

Main area Community Health Services Grade Band 3 Contract Permanent Hours

• Full time
• Flexible working

37.5 hours per week (shift patterns 08:00 - 16:00, 09:00 - 17:00, 13:00 -21:00) Job ref 448-LCA-7954487-A

Employer East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust (Cambridgeshire) Employer type NHS Site The Poynt Town Luton Salary £25,760 - £27,476 per annum, pro-rata Salary period Yearly Closing 14/10/2026 23:59 Interview date 29/10/2026

SPOC Telephone Advisor

Band 3

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust delivers expert healthcare in people’s homes, community hospitals and local settings across the East of England.

Our nurses, therapists, clinicians, support teams and partners work together to provide coordinated care that supports independence, recovery and wellbeing. We believe people are best cared for close to home, in the communities where they live and belong.

By combining professional expertise with strong local relationships, we help people stay well, feel supported and access the right care at the right time. Expert healthcare, close to home, trusted by our communities.

Different ideas, experiences and backgrounds make us stronger and more creative and applications from all walks of life are welcomed. Our processes ensure that all applicants are treated fairly at every stage of the recruitment process.

East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust is committed to creating a modern and inclusive work environment. We actively promote flexible working opportunities where possible to meet the needs and wishes of our workforce and maintain and improve their wellbeing. We also offer flexible working patterns and we would encourage you to discuss this with the recruiting manager before or during the application process if this would interest you.

We welcome applications from people who share our values and can help us deliver outstanding care in our local community.

Before applying for this vacancy, please make sure you’re familiar with ongoing GOV.uk sponsorship eligibility criteria which will impact the organisations ability to provide sponsorship, whether this is currently or in the future.

Please note, our selection processes are in place to ensure we recruit candidates with the right values and skills. Please be advised that the use of AI in applications is monitored. We remain watchful of candidates who misuse these tools to generate an application that doesn’t accurately reflect their skills.

Please note all new starters will be subject to a 6 month probationary period.

Job overview

Could you use your skills and experience to support the Luton Adults Single Point of Contact to promote great care?

Are you enthusiastic, organised and adaptable?

Would you enjoy the opportunity to work as part of a small proactive team?

We have an exciting opportunity to expand our team of Single Point of Contact/RMS Telephone Advisors within the Referral Management Service (RMS). If you are enthusiastic, motivated and have excellent communication skills we would like to hear from you.

The SPOC/RMS is staffed by qualified clinicians who are supported by SPOC/RMS Telephone Advisors with the skills necessary to determine the most effective pathway for delivery of patient care in a timely manner. The post holder will work closely with the clinicians processing referrals, answering a variety of telephone calls and utilising strong initiative skills to provide excellent administration support throughout the shift.

Whilst this rewarding non-clinical role can be fast paced and challenging, full support and training will be provided and the Trust is committed to staff development.

The service works 365 days per year including weekends and bank holidays from 8am-9pm. We are looking for flexible staff that are able to cover shifts on a rota basis.

Main duties of the job

'Should we receive a high number of applications we reserve the right to close this vacancy at any point after 08/10/ 2026'.

The post holder will manage all incoming communications including telephone, email or letter and/or any other forms of communication. The post holder will use information systems to establish the urgent status of potential new referrals.

The post holder will manage day to day enquiries and requests for information. The post holder will work to agreed pathways and protocols to support Community Nursing and Specialist teams.

Working for our organisation

Rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission, we are proud to provide high quality innovative services across most of the east of England that enable people to receive care closer to home and live healthier lives.

There’s one reason why our services are outstanding – and that’s our amazing staff who, for the seventh year running, rated us incredibly highly in the national staff survey.

All are welcome to apply and our promise to you is a culture which prioritises staff engagement and development.

Please be aware that East of England Community Health and Care NHS Trust will never ask applicants to pay fees at any stage of the recruitment process, including job applications, sponsorship arrangements, or employment offers. All recruitment communications and job applications should only be made through our official careers website and published contact details.

We encourage you to report any potential recruitment fraud to your local police or relevant law enforcement agency. Any concerns relating to potential recruitment fraud should also be reported to our Local Counter Fraud Specialist (LCFS) as soon as possible.

Our safe recruitment pre-employment checks are undertaken before an appointment is confirmed and may include a DBS check. Where the role requires you to drive, we'll ask you to validate your driving licence online via the DVLA.

Redeployment - Please note that in the first instance priority for this vacancy will be given to staff who are on the Trusts Redeployment Register.
Closing and Interview Dates -This vacancy may close early if sufficient applicants are received.

Data Protection - A privacy notice detailing how we will handle your data is attached to this advert as a document. Your application will be transferred to our recruitment management system (Trac) once the advert has closed and you will receive notification then detailing how Trac will handle your data.

ALL CORRESPONDENCE will be via the e-mail address on your application form. If you have not been invited to interview within 2 weeks of the closing date, you unfortunately haven’t been successful on this occasion, but keep an eye on our vacancies as a job that’s just right for you may appear!

Person specification

Qualifications and Training

• Good level of education equivalent of NVQ Level 3 or above
• Training in telephone call handling/ triage within health care setting

Experience

• Knowledge and experience of working within a health care setting
• Telephone call handling within a health care setting
• Regular requirement for concentration
• Regular requirement to deal with distressing or emotionally charged communication
• Experience of Referral Management & prioritization using agreed protocols within health care setting
• Telephone triage within health care setting- e.g. NHS Direct, 111, GP Out of Hours, GP Practice, Ambulance Service

Knowledge and Skills

• Excellent accurate keyboard skills
• Excellent telephone skills and manner
• Proficient in use of computerised patient electronic record systems.
• Proficient in the use of IT systems e.g. Word, Excel to a high standard
• The ability to organise and prioritise own workload within an agreed schedule of work and to work under pressure and within agreed timescales
• Ability to work flexibly as part of a team
• Display the ability to exercise initiative, tact and judgement and be able to make decisions within agreed parameters when required to do so
• Ability to communicate effectively when under pressure
• Good customer care skills
• Positive attitude and approach to responding to all queries and contacts in a helpful manner
• Ability to analyse information quickly and effectively, thereby ensuring correct pathway is chosen
• Using SystmOne (S1) A/I

Equal Opportunities - We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome all applications irrespective of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race or religion. Additionally, people with disabilities that fall under the Disability Confident Scheme will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post (outlined in the Person Specification). All sites are Smoke Free.