Telecommunication Department provides the following services:
- Switchboard Services
- Maintenance and purchase of Telecommunication equipment to include Telephones, Fax Machines, Pagers, Mobiles and Voice Mail.
- Installation of new telephone and data cabling.
- Maintenance of the Door Access Swipe Card System (excluding the issuing of cards which is managed by Security)
- Other services to include Pin Numbers for personal telephone calls, Call Logging Reports, Directories and Payphones.
Standard
To ensure that all routine telecommunication requests are dealt with under a priority appointment booking system.
To ensure all external calls are answered within 20 seconds and information on volume of calls communicated to Customers on a regular basis.
Responsibilities
Responsibility for overall strategy and direction of the Trust Telecommunications will rest with the Head of Estates and Infrastructure in conjunction with the Telecommunication and Technical Service Manager (T&TS Manager)
The T&TS Manager has overall responsibility for the operation of the Trusts telecommunication services. They shall work in conjunction with the Health Informatics Department to address the convergence of voice and data technologies and ensure that equipment is deployed in such a way not to compromise either network and in line with agreed Trust policies and infrastructure development.
Managers have a specific responsibility to support the T&TS Manager to ensure the following:
- All levels of management under their responsibility and such staff are fully aware of and ensure full compliance of the Telephone Policy and Operating documents / procedures.
- That - financial appraisals and evaluations are undertaken and applied to all areas of telephony expenditure under their control.
- To provide or ensure staff provide up to date contact details for the purpose of generating the Trust Telephone Directories
- Monitor telephone usage reports and investigate any inappropriate or fraudulent usage, taking appropriate actions where necessary to deter such usage.
- Ensure staff that make or receive private personal telephone calls do so as outlined in line Telecommunications Policy.
- To liaison and assist the T&TS Manager from time to time with ad hock changes, auditing and reviews of telecommunication devices, services, and levels of access rights to such
Managers have an on-going responsibility for monitoring their staff’s usage of the telephones They should be vigilant of excessive time spent by staff on telephone calls and should remind staff of good business practice concerning telephone usage.
Personal Calls
Staff are not permitted to make free personal telephone calls, except in the following circumstances,
- unplanned changes to working times or
- emergency calls,
both which must have Line Manager approval.
Staff wishing to make or receive Personal calls should do so in their own time to ensure no loss of productivity or impacting on the Trust ability to provide a service.
Recording and Monitoring of Telephone Calls
The Trust must have a Call Logger fitted to the telephone system or subscribe to a managed call logging service to enable both the financial aspect and the activity of telephone calls within the trust to be reported on as well as to support the detection of fraudulent and investigatory purposes
Indiscriminate recording or monitoring of the content of telephone calls may not be undertaken. Where voice recording or monitoring of calls is undertaken, both parties will be informed by means of publicity, verbal or audible warnings. Authorisation for such recording or monitoring must be obtained from the Associate Director of Facilities and Estates.
Voice recording will only be undertaken in those situations where it is necessary to archive the content of the call in order to provide a record for any subsequent investigation, analysis of an incident, training purposes. Typical situations where voice recording will take place are Ambulance Control Rooms, Telephone Triage and Health Advice Lines, call centres.
You can read our Telecommunications policy by clicking here.
