In the view of telephone operator at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH), Sharon Reece, the Communication Centre in which she operates is the throbbing heartbeat of the hospital.
This week’s WEDNESDAY WOMAN is quick to note that without her or her colleagues, communications with internal and external customers would be as complicated as a troubled heart.
“I consider my department the heart of the hospital because our job is very important. If the switchboard isn’t working, that’s it. We receive internal and external calls. We make overseas calls. If there is an emergency in the hospital, the nurses call us to get in contact with the doctor for the ward.”
From the animated way she speaks about her job, and from her high-spiritedness, it is clear that she loves the job that she has been doing for the past 19 years.
Many techniques and protocols need to be followed for one to be a successful operator, Reece is quick to point out.
But the most important of them, she says, is that you must be a people person – friendly, polite and understanding even when dealing with difficult customers.
“I love doing what I do because it makes a difference in people’s lives. I love interacting with people; I love communicating with the public. I love helping the old people who call in and keep you there for a while explaining something to them,” said the flashily dressed mother of two, who believes that looking her best and smiling while conversing with customers can bring a positive outcome to a call.
She added: “There are some people who call you and they don’t know where they need to be connected, and they tell you ‘I went to the clinic last week and I need to be transferred there’. But we have a number of clinics at QEH, so you have to listen to the caller carefully to find out whether it was the [Ear, Nose and Throat] clinic or Outpatients.”
When on duty, the 40-year-old answers scores of calls.
Some she will remember for years to come, and others her mind only registers at the moment she is on the phone.
But one call which will forever be etched in Reece’s mind is one she received on Sunday, July 29, 2007, when six people lost their lives and another 37 were injured when a tour coach transporting them to the Crop Over East Coast Calypso Bowl party crashed into a wall at Joe’s River in St Joseph.
“I remember when we received the call and we got into action one time. Everybody was busy making calls and receiving. The first person we had to get in touch with was the hospital’s CEO and let him know that there was a mass casualty and to get permission from him to call out those under his umbrella – like the heads of departments and surgeons.
“We had to make an announcement on the intercom, saying code red to let everybody know that there’s an emergency, and that something is going on and that they need to head to their departments and be on standby,” said Reece in a reflective mood, admitting, “I don’t mean to sound mean, but I just love doing emergencies – there’s a thrill I get from an emergency.”
