Roles & Responsibilities & the Qualities of a good Telephone Operator in a Hospital

Ans - Hospital switchboard operators are wholly responsible for all the communication that goes on in
a hospital. Hence, these people probably have the most important job within a medical facility.When
you enter a hospital, you will either be greeted by a front desk operator or a hospital switchboard
operator, depending on the specific front desk arrangements of the facility. These people are
responsible for answering telephone calls, taking messages, transferring calls, and ensuring that
emergency services are coordinated in accordance with the nature of the emergency.

Hospital switchboard operators need to be extremely diligent as they are technically responsible for the
patient’s lives. They need to be able to listen intently, determine the nature of the call, and see if the call
must be transferred to the required staff member – or if it can be handled at tier 1. They screen calls to
ensure authenticity and make sure that any messages are communicated to the correct recipients in a
time-efficient manner.

Responsibility

 Greet patients and visitors at the hospital front desk and ask how they would like to be assisted
 Provide the required information in person and direct visitors/patients to appropriate staff
members or departments
 Set up and maintain complex communication systems such as PBXs, intercoms, and public
address systems
 Take telephone calls and respond to inquiries aimed at hospital services and procedures
 Transfer telephone calls to intended recipients after screening them properly
 Arrange for appropriate emergency services by paging relevant medical staff members
 Make outgoing calls on requests of hospital staff members
 Answer queries pertaining to admitted patients by following strict confidentiality protocols
 Perform clerical duties such as typing and proofreading important documents
 Arrange for meetings with doctors and other staff members
 Provide relay services, specifically TDD, for hearing impaired callers
 Coordinate efforts with housekeeping staff to ensure proper and constant clean-up of the front
desk and surrounding areas
 Create and maintain logs of incoming and outgoing calls on a daily basis
 Operate paging systems and intercoms to communicate with medical staff during emergency
services.