Telephonist - Zero Hours

The Methodist Church in Britain; West Midlands; On-site; GBP 12,000 - 17,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Annual discretionary bonus

Automatic pension enrolment with 5%

Car lease scheme

Home and electronics scheme

Discounted leisure, travel and retail

Cycle to work scheme

24/7, 365-day Employee Assistance Prog

Full training provided

Job summary

SWFT Clinical Services Ltd. seeks a telephonist/receptionist on a zero-hours basis to be the first point of contact for patients, visitors and staff on the hospital switchboard.

The role involves routing calls, handling enquiries, and supporting emergency procedures, with supervised and unsupervised periods from 5pm on weekdays, weekends, and some bank holidays. Working within the NHS framework, you will operate the Lorenzo system, manage on-call rotas, and liaise with Estates, security and

Qualifications

• Level 3 education or equivalent experience
• Communications and customer relations skills

Responsibilities

• Receive and redirect telephone calls to the appropriate departments
• Act as first point of contact for patients, visitors and staff, including reception enquiries and directions
• Monitor emergency numbers and alarm panels, escalating issues as needed
• Support emergency procedures for fire, cardiac arrest, maternity and major emergencies
• Operate the hospital bleep system, including daily tests, faults and battery issue
• Maintain on-call rotas and on-call phone numbers, and programme on-call phones
• Handle non-emergency transport requests and patient transfer and discharge calls via the logistics provider
• Liaise with Estates, security, porters and out-of-hours staff on maintenance and alarm issues
• Issue locum packs, ID badges, accommodation keys and temporary ID cards, and keep key records
• Handle out-of-hours access requests via intercom and contractor calls
• Use the Lorenzo patient administration system to locate patients and assist with enquiries
• Test emergency red phones and support testing of alarms and systems with Estates

Skills

Verbal communication

Organisational skills

Confidentiality

Data entry

Teamwork

Education

Level 3 education or equivalent experience

Tools

Lorenzo patient administration system

Job description

This zero-hours telephonist/receptionist post sits on the hospital switchboard team at SWFT Clinical Services Ltd, a subsidiary of South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust, covering mainly day shifts with occasional nights. The post-holder is the first point of contact for patients, visitors and staff, routing calls and handling reception enquiries. The role includes lone, unsupervised working from 5pm on weekdays, at weekends and on some bank holidays, including monitoring emergency numbers and alarm panels. Visa sponsorship is not available, and full training is provided.

What the job involves

• Receive and redirect telephone calls to the appropriate departments
• Act as first point of contact for patients, visitors and staff, including reception enquiries and directions
• Monitor emergency numbers and alarm panels, escalating issues as needed
• Support emergency procedures for fire, cardiac arrest, maternity and major emergencies
• Operate the hospital bleep system, including daily tests, faults and battery issue
• Maintain on-call rotas and on-call phone numbers, and programme on-call phones
• Handle non-emergency transport requests and patient transfer and discharge calls via the logistics provider
• Liaise with Estates, security, porters and out-of-hours staff on maintenance and alarm issues
• Issue locum packs, ID badges, accommodation keys and temporary ID cards, and keep key records
• Handle out-of-hours access requests via intercom and contractor calls
• Use the Lorenzo patient administration system to locate patients and assist with enquiries
• Test emergency red phones and support testing of alarms and systems with Estates

Qualifications

• Level 3 education or equivalent experience
• Communications and customer relations skills

Experience

• Previous experience working in telecommunications services
• At least 2 years in telecommunications or customer-facing roles

Skills & knowledge

• Good verbal communication skills
• Good organisational skills and ability to plan workload, change priorities and work under pressure
• Good working knowledge of confidentiality
• Computer keyboard skills for data entry
• Able to work independently and as part of a team, referring to a supervisor as needed

Other

• Able to work shifts
• Willing to work additional hours
• Able to work alone and unsupervised out of hours and at weekends
• Articulate and polite
• Responsible and reliable
• Co-operative and flexible

Nice to have

• Experience gained within the NHS

What’s offered

• Annual discretionary bonus, subject to company and individual performance
• Automatic pension enrolment with 5% employer contribution
• Car lease scheme, available after six-month probation
• Home and electronics scheme, available after six-month probation
• Discounted leisure, travel and retail, plus cycle to work scheme
• 24/7, 365-day Employee Assistance Programme
• Full training provided