What does a Home Care Coordinator do?

A home care coordinator is more senior than a home care worker or assistant. The role involves organising the service rota, supporting service users and managing a team. This provides opportunities and choices for service users to live independently. The coordinator organises effective, seamless, personalised care so the individuals concerned can realise their potential. 

A Home Care Coordinator's Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a home care coordinator are to organise how people receive their care and ensure there is a clear and manageable rota for care. They are one of the main healthcare providers for administering medication in the community and managing care plans for those living independently. This important role helps service users find the right care and connects them with the timely support they need. 

Coordination and Scheduling of Care Services

Most of a coordinator’s time is spent working out care rotas and scheduling workers so they’re not just spending all their time travelling from house to house. As a people manager, there is a requirement for good communication and administrative skills. 

Service users can require support from everyone from chiropodists to clinical nurses, as well as volunteers who may offer themselves as befrienders, all of these visits need scheduling with attention to detail and strong organisational skills. 

Client Assessments and Care Plans

Keeping an overarching assessment of service users' files is essential to ensure all changing needs are considered and cared for. This ensures consistency and holistic care for everyone who needs it.

Home care assessments include asking the service user how difficult they find day-to-day tasks, and fully understanding their mental and emotional needs. This full well-being assessment will determine if they can remain in their home and the care they will need if they do. The care plan is created from the assessment and is a programme that sometimes includes multiple health practitioners and the details of how this will be paid for. 

Communication Bridge Between Clients, Families, and Caregivers

A big part of the role is making sure other professionals, like occupational therapists and community nurses, know all about the needs of the patients. The role requires excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to ensure detailed reports are delivered and acted on. 

Service users often live independently with home care so they don’t burden their families. In most cases, the families will still want to be informed of what home care service is provided and when change is needed. Especially those that have power of attorney for a loved one. It’s the coordinator's role to keep that line of communication open and updated.

Training and Supervision of Caregiving Staff

Becoming a coordinator involves taking care of a team. Understanding their drives and motivations is essential to becoming a good man manager. Providing training opportunities and finding out about what their ambitions are will help keep them happy at work. 

Regular supervision will help ensure all targets are being met (around the care of service users) and team members’ skills and abilities are developing. This role can sometimes have the responsibility of supervising other healthcare professionals or volunteers. This requires leadership and organisational skills, as being the point of contact for constantly improving the care provided has many moving parts. 

Ensuring Compliance with Health Regulations

A home care coordinator has to stay updated with clinical knowledge so that patients and service users get the compliant care. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) have regulations that need to be followed and are relevant to home care. Importantly, making sure the patient understands everything being done for them, and that they have been consulted and given their consent before a care plan is actioned is a legal requirement.

Crisis Management and Problem Solving

There are two main areas when it comes to crisis or risk management – 

1. The service users 

When it comes to asking yourself about the risks around a service user's situation the answer may include additional support, consultation, safeguarding, resources or specific actions that need to be undertaken by the home care coordinator or others. 

2. The team

A home care coordinator's team will need regular training and supervisions, preparedness for the unexpected and a strong leader. The team will turn to the coordinator when there is a problem and expect clear and calm support. 

Register with Social Care People today 

If you’d like to progress your career, become a coordinator or get started in care register with Social Care People to find out about the best job opportunities available today.