HOME Instead East Northants has just celebrated nine years of providing quality care to people in their own home.
But behind the scenes in the office to make visits run smoothly, the firm has schedulers, otherwise known as Care Coordinators. Their role is to make sure the clients have a compatible caregivers for their visit. Knowledge of the area is also essential because they need to consider the distance from the caregiver’s home to their client and the travelling involved to the next client. The aim is to keep within a five-mile radius to avoid zig zagging across the county. This, of course, can throw all great plans into disarray when a caregiver rings in sick. This is where the Care Coordinator’s job can be extremely stressful. The client’s needs will always be put first and a caregiver will be asked to travel further if needed.
A scheduler needs to be able to think laterally. They not only know the clients well, they also need to know how well a caregiver is suited to the client. For instance, do they have a common interest, which in time will grow into a great relationship. These hobbies and interests of clients and caregivers are of great importance, to enable Home Instead to get a good match.
Angela Burke and Elaine Hipgrave are Senior Care Coordinators at Home Instead East Northants and manage 14,000 hours of care a month. Angela and Elaine both started as caregivers and then they discovered they had a gift for scheduling after a spell in the office Both have worked for Home instead East Northants for over six years. They are calm, level-headed and have a good sense of humour to get them through the day.
They require the skill to be able to switch caregivers that are known to clients. To keep the continuity if someone has rung in sick. Sometimes this may take four, five or six changes just so all the clients are covered and happy with their visit. They won’t leave the office unless every client is covered.
Their loyalty and compassion and hard work is truly recognised by Mark and Rosina Darnell, owners of Home Instead East Northants. In 2014, Angela won The Great British Care Awards East Midlands Care Coordinator of the Year a very proud moment for her and the company. They both deserve to be recognised for the great job they do.
Contact Home Instead East Northants on 01933 678775 for more information.