Telephonist

Post Title:

Telephonist

Post Status:

Temporary, Part-Time, 17.5 hours per week

Department:

General Services

Location:

Beaumont Hospital & Affiliated Sites   

Reports to:

Telephony Supervisor or other nominated Manager

Salary:

Appointment will be made on the Grade IV Scale (€35,609 - € 51,718, LSI1 €53,296, LSI2 €54,914 ) at a point in line with Government pay policy

Hours of work: 

Part-Time, 17.5 hours per week over a 5/7 roster which includes evenings, nights, week-ends and bank holiday.

Closing Date:

12.00 noon on 23/10/2025

Please note the hospital reserves the right to close the competition early should a substantial number of applications be received.

Day to Day Operational Duties:

1. Operate the switchboard and paging system in accordance with the standard procedures laid down by the hospital
2. Manage up to 1,800 calls per daily shift
3. Answer and direct all internal and external calls to the Hospital in a timely manner
4. Ensure all calls are forwarded to the appropriate locations as efficiently as possible
5. Be aware of return calls to the hospital and report issues regarding voice-mail etc to appropriate department head to ensure the caller is reaching the requested location / staff member
6. Monitoring the quality of the telephone and voice communication service with a view to introducing improvements where possible
7. Be vigilant for queries of a clinical aspect regarding contacting individuals and the most efficient way to do so e.g. bleep/ DECT/ mobile phone
8. Ensuring on on-call lists are up to day on a daily basis
9. Be vigilant for patients who may need access to acute advice
10. Calling in staff who are involved in the provision of an after-hours-on-call service for the hospital, i.e. maintenance staff
11. Undertake training/re-training as requested
12. Be flexible within the roster to ensure service provision
13. Observe strict confidentiality and GDPR hospital policy
14. Record and maintain such telephone records as requested
15. Co-operation with new equipment, technology, methods and techniques for the provision of an enhanced service.
16. Must be aware at all times of hospital activity / changes / projects / media that affect patients and wider community so that queries are dealt with a timely manner
17. Ensure a welcoming and professional engagement with all telephone call holders.
18. Undertake other administrative work when required consistent with the grading of the post
19. To perform such other duties appropriate to the office as may from time to time be required by the Beaumont Hospital Board.

Responses to Internal Incidents / Major Emergency Plan / Equipment Failure

1. Responsible for initiating responses to internal incidents and plan which involves contact the fire services and activating the rapid response teams
2. Responsible for initiating responses to the hospital’s Major Incident Plan by validating the incident with the Emergency Department’s staff on duty and subsequently activating the Major Incident Plan
3. Identify and immediately respond to the various daily emergency calls, and follow the associated hospital procedures, for example: Cardiac Arrest and FAST protocols.
4. The telephonist to demonstrate a clear and calm manner
5. Responsible for the monitoring of alarms i.e. medical gases, fire alarms, building management alarms and lift malfunctions etc
6. Take the appropriate action in response to such alarms and contacting the appropriate personnel for response. The telephony staff on duty must respond quickly and calmly as the communication hub in these events to ensure the appropriate personnel are informed.
7. In the event of a defect occurring in the telephone, dect, paging system observe the procedures laid down by the hospital

Other Duties

1. Update the Daily on Call Schedule - this includes ensuring adjustments due to swaps, leave provided by the Individual NCHD Teams are captured.
2. Valid the Daily on Call Schedule by contacting the NCHD Teams.
3. Print the Daily on Call Schedule by contacting the NCHD Teams.
4. Acknowledge receipt of Weekly Rosters from Specialist Teams and Dublin Hospitals via the telephony department’s email address.
5. Ensure all Hospital Internal Incidents are reported via the Incident Report E-Form, i.e. power / system failures, equipment faults
6. Where appropriate ensure all urgent matters are escalated appropriately, i.e. during Out of Hours to the Out of Hours Site Manager
7. Ensure Department rosters for NCHD’s, Nursing, Radiographers, Laboratory Staff for Christmas/Easter holiday periods are up to date in advance in a timely manner
8. Print and replace all daily templates, i.e. daily test sheets for Cardiac Arrest Forms when the stocks are low.
9. Ensure all daily testing of Major Emergency Plan, Cardiac Arrest test are completed and recorded.
10. Weekly testing of the Cardiac Arrest Backup Bleeps.

The job description is an outline of the post as it is currently perceived by the hospital and will be subject to review and amendment. This job description will therefore be subject to change in light of the various strategies for the hospital and the development of the Clinical Directorate model and any future developments that arise and will evolve and change over time.

Selection Criteria: 

Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post. 

Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.