Out of Hours Despatcher | Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

Posting date:	09 February 2026
Salary:	Not specified
Additional salary information:	£26,240 - £27,928 per annum pro rata (incl. of HCAS)
Hours:	Part time
Closing date:	11 March 2026
Location:	Wokingham, RG41 2RE
Company:	Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Job type:	Permanent
Job reference:	7795633/371-CHS1162

Summary

Westcall, the GP out of hours service for Berkshire West, is looking for motivated and driven individuals to join the Out of Hours Operations team,part-time,working during evenings, nights, weekends and Bank Holidays.


You'll be the first point of contact via telephone, for both patients and healthcare professionals across Berkshire, supporting referrers to make referrals to the Westcall service and other community services.


Flexibility and availability to work additional hours on an ad-hoc basis during out of hours is desirable. This is a hybrid role once training has been completed.


We are recruiting for the following:


Weekly


Friday 18:00-24:00


Saturday 12:00-18:00


Saturday 13:00-18:00


One evening a week 18:00-22:00 (either Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, to be discussed at interview)


Alternate weeks


Friday 18:00-23:00


Friday 18:00-22:00


Saturday 08:00-12:00


Saturday 19:00-23:00


Once every four weeks


Sunday 00:00-07:00


Please submit applications for a combination of two or more of the above shifts, clearly outlining within your application which of the shifts you are applying for.


Successful candidates will be expected to offer availability on bank holidays including those over festive periods including Christmas, New Year and Easter.

• Answer incoming calls in a courteous, helpful and professional manner representing the initial contact with the service. Ensure that patients’ contact details are entered accurately onto the system databases.

• Receiving incoming referrals to the Berkshire Integrated Hub and collect supporting information from the referrer, patient and other agencies. To monitor the Berkshire Integrated hub mailbox for incoming referrals

• To ensure incoming referrals are processed in a timely manner to meet service requirements and are referred onto the appropriate service, ensuring all supporting documentation is completed and referred on.

• Efficient and accurate recording of data on the Adastra and RIO electronic patient management systems including details of clinical symptoms, relevant past medical history and medication where appropriate.

• Assist other members of the operational team including nursing, reception and driving staff with complex and challenging situations including emergency calls, patient complaints and security issues.

• Assisting operational shift leads with managing workflow, despatching and allocation of work to clinical colleagues.


Berkshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust is a specialist mental health and community health services trust. Rated ‘outstanding’ by the CQC, we’re committed to providing the best possible care to people across Berkshire. As an employer, we’re committed to offering an inclusive and compassionate environment where our people share in a sense of belonging and are supported to flourish.

Our values at Berkshire Healthcare are:
• Caring for and about you is our top priority
• Committed to providing good quality, safe services
• Working Together with you to develop innovative solutions

Your wellbeing is important to us. Some of the benefits of working for us include:
• Flexible working options to support work-life balance
• 27 days’ annual leave rising with service + opportunity to buy and sell
• Generous NHS pension scheme
• Excellent learning and career development opportunities
• ‘Cycle to Work’ and car leasing scheme including electric vehicles
• Access to a range of wellbeing tools and services
• Discounts at hundreds of popular retailers and restaurants
• Staff networks for race, diversity, disabilities, the environment and armed forces community to support equality
• Generous maternity, paternity, adoption and special leave
• Free parking across Trust sites

The “must haves” for you to be considered for this role: 

• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, experience of confidently communicating via the telephone and in managing challenging conversations in a sensitive manner.

• The ability to work effectively individually and as part of a team

• The ability to remain calm under pressure

• A patient centered attitude


For further information about the role, please see attached job description and person specification.


We strongly encourage you to review how you meet the criteria in the person specification and write about this point-by-point in your supporting statement for the best chance of being shortlisted.


We’re committed to equal opportunities and welcome applications from all sections of the community. Our commitment to inclusion is reflected in our accreditations: Race Equality Matters Silver Trailblazer, Neurodiversity in Business Corporate Member, Disability Confident Leader, Carer Confident Level 2, and the Armed Forces Covenant Gold Award. Reasonable adjustments will be provided to candidates as needed.


We welcome a conversation about flexibility and any other questions you may have. Please don’t hesitate to call: Averil Spackman on0118 9781119or email:  averil.spackman@berkshire.nhs.uk who’ll be delighted to help.


Please note, if we receive a high number of applications, we may close this role earlier than the advertised closing date, so please submit your application as soon as possible.



This advert closes on Monday 16 Feb 2026

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A Disability Confident employer will generally offer an interview to any applicant that declares they have a disability and meets the minimum criteria for the job as defined by the employer. It is important to note that in certain recruitment situations such as high-volume, seasonal and high-peak times, the employer may wish to limit the overall numbers of interviews offered to both disabled people and non-disabled people. For more details please go to Disability Confident.