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Care Coordinator

Care Coordinators are part of the ‘Universal Personalised Care’ team working in Primary Care services. Personalised Care is part of a social strategy to tackle health inequalities through communities rather than relying solely on referrals to specialist secondary healthcare, which can take a long time and might not always be needed. The Personalised Care team includes this role, Health and Wellbeing Coaches and Social Prescribing Link Workers.

Two hands holding each other

Operating out of GP practices, or community organisations working on behalf of the NHS, Care Coordinators help people coordinate the health and care provided by a wide range of professionals and services. For some people their care package involves lots of people and results in many appointments. This can be very confusing and difficult to keep a track of, especially for isolated members of our communities. Therefore, the Care Coordinator supports the individual to make sense of it all and be better able to make their own decisions about their healthcare. The people getting this kind of support may have long-term health conditions, disabilities, mental health issues or just feel lonely or isolated within their communities.  

To achieve this, Care Coordinators listen to what matters to the person, assess their needs, bring professionals together to work for the individual, communicate on their behalf and monitor progress. Indeed, the Care Coordinator becomes the ‘single point of contact’ for people who would otherwise need to navigate their own way through a complex healthcare system. 

Responsibilities

As a Care Coordinator you will need to:  

  • provide coordination of support across health and care services, working closely with Primary Care Networks 
  • arrange appointments, referrals, tests and follow ups for people 
  • work with the individual, their family and their carers  
  • Ensure patients have good quality information on their care and choices  
  • follow safeguarding procedures  
  • record and input key information into clinical systems  
  • assist people to access personal healthcare budgets

Skills

You will need to have: 

  • excellent communication skills  
  • strong IT skills, including being competent in the use of Office and Outlook 
  • effective time management 
  • Good planning and organisational skills 
  • the ability to work as a team member and autonomously 
  • good interpersonal skills 
  • problem solving  
  • analytical skills 
  • the ability to follow policy and procedure 
  • data reporting and data management skills 

Salary

The average salary in the UK is £22,480 per year. This does vary depending on the experience an individual has, their level of education, where they live and the company they work for.

Working hours

Typically, a care coordinator will work around 40 hours a week, but as they can work in numerous settings there may be flexible working available, and both full-time and part-time contracts. 

Employers

Care Coordinators work in:  

  • NHS Offices 
  • GP Practices 
  • Hospitals 
  • Hospices 
  • Community organisations

Work experience

Experience of working with people in community settings whether paid or unpaid. This could also include ‘lived experiences’ of some of the health and well-being issues within communities. 

What to expect

As a Care Coordinator you will: 

  • be the named contact who people will go to with questions and requests related to their package of healthcare 
  • work in Multi Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) in the Primary Care networks and the community 
  • be very busy, juggling multiple tasks for many people who need your help to access the right care at the right time 

Career Progression

With appropriate training could progress into one of the other Universal Personalised Care roles- Health and Well-being Coach or Social Prescribing Link Worker.  

There are also opportunities to develop a specialism- for example working with children and families, working in specific community setting such as housing associations, or organisations with a focus mental health and well-being. 

An experienced Care Coordinator could progress into management roles. 

The experience of working with people in healthcare could also provide a springboard into the health professions through degree apprenticeships. For example, Mental Health Nursing or Occupational Therapy. Degree level study would require a Level 3 qualification. 

NHS Jobs NHS Health Careers

How do I become a Care Coordinator?

On the whole, there are no set entry requirements (other than ‘a good standard of education’) for this role because your work and life experience, personal qualities and values are generally more important than qualifications. However, some employers can ask for a degree in a relevant area or an equivalent level of experience. 

The lack of specific entry requirements means that workers can come from a range of care experiences including voluntary and community work. It is a role that could also benefit from workers who have had a ‘lived experiences’ of some of the issues people face e.g., experience of being active in the community involvement and/or people from community groups including those with disabilities. Recently, the pandemic showed that there were a huge number of people who were willing to support others by joining the ‘army of volunteers’ and working as stewards at testing centres or vaccinators in vaccination centres or deliverers of food to the most vulnerable.   

However the responsibilities and skills of the Care Coordinator role could appeal to someone with experience of administrative work within a healthcare setting, e.g., those who have worked in Primary Care and/or GP Practices. 

In summary, employers might ask for one or more of the following:  

  • experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work). Employers might ask for 1 year or more of relevant experience 
  • experience of administrative work in Primary Care/GP Practice 
  • a good standard of general education with English and Maths to GCSE level 4 to 9 
  • a level 3 qualification or a level 3 qualification in a related area such as health and social care or business administration 
  • a degree or equivalent or a degree in a related area such as Social Work, Social Policy, Health, Business Management 

Once in a role, you will receive training and development to support you (approved by Personalised Care Institute). 

Routes to become a Care Coordinator

A Community Health and Wellbeing Worker apprenticeship is one route. Once qualified and experienced progression into the Care Coordinator role is possible. 

University

A Higher Education qualification is not usually essential (although some employers might ask for it). Either way, this role might appeal to graduates of degrees such as Social Work, Social Policy, Guidance and Counselling, Childhood Studies, Youth & Community Work, any health related degree, even Business Administration related courses.

UCAS NHS Health Careers University of Sunderland

Apprenticeship

Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Apprenticeship.

Experience of working with people in community settings whether paid or unpaid. This could also include ‘lived experiences’ of some of the health and well-being issues within communities.

Find an Apprenticeship NHS Jobs Community Health and Wellbeing Worker (Level 3) Diploma in Skills for Health and Social Care Level 2 - Bishop Auckland College Health and Social Care Level 2 - Sunderland College Extended Diploma Health and Social Care Level 2 - New College Durham Extended Diploma in Health and Social Care Level 2 - East Durham College

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