Mark Westcott has been a switchboard operator with #myKHSC for 12 years. He says the most important role the team has is the activation of medical and non-medical codes.
Credit
Matthew Manor/KHSC
Have you ever wondered who’s on the other end of the phone when you call Kingston Health Sciences Centre (KHSC)? Or the person behind the voice making announcements in the hospital using the overhead paging system?
Chances are you’ve either spoken with or heard Mark Westcott, one of many caring and helpful switchboard operators.
“We are like KHSC’s live directory and internal 911 dispatch,” explains Westcott.
“We help locate patients and connect family members with their loved ones who may be staying in the hospital. We also connect callers to various clinics, departments, physicians’ offices, the operating room for surgery times, or to different sites like the Cancer Centre.”
But it’s more than just fielding and directing calls.
Westcott also supports patient care areas by reaching out to on-call staff and the entire switchboard team is vital when an emergency code is called.
“The most important role we have is the activation of medical and non-medical codes. Codes are both internal and external, announced and unannounced.
“They include external traumas, internal and external strokes or internal RACE (Rapid Assessment of Critical Event) calls, which you do not hear as an overhead announcement.
“Codes can be very stressful and medical ones are time sensitive. If we take too long, it could cause more harm to the patient and due to the complexity of some of the codes we may not be able to answer other callers right away.”
It’s hard to calculate just how many calls Westcott has answered since joining our organization 12 years ago, switchboard does operate 24/7, but no doubt it’s in the tens of thousands.
He’s also had his fair share of unique ones.
“I’ve had people calling asking me for the time of day, what the weather forecast is, where travel clinics are, what road conditions are like or if there’s closures.”
He may not always have the answers, but he always tries to point people in the right direction.
“I enjoy knowing that switchboard tries to make a difference every day.”
And at the end of each shift Westcott and his colleagues can hang up their receivers knowing they’ve made a positive impact for patients, families and the entire KHSC team.
Gallery
Mark Westcott has been a switchboard operator with #myKHSC for 12 years. He says the most important role the team has is the activation of medical and non-medical codes.
