Meet Lucy Hastings: Care Coordinator at SilverBirch Healthcare
Lucy Hastings serves as the Care Coordinator at SilverBirch Healthcare. She plays a vital role in delivering seamless and high-quality care for clients. With a keen eye for detail, Lucy understands the needs of both clients and carers. As a Care Coordinator, she schedules visits, manages client care plans, and ensures everyone receives the right support at the right time. Her compassionate nature and strong organizational skills make her an invaluable part of the team. Lucy helps create a smooth and efficient care experience. Passionate about making a difference, she takes pride in building trusting relationships with clients and their families.
About the Role
Can you describe your role as a Care Coordinator at SilverBirch Healthcare?
In my role, I assign calls to the carers and maintain continuity. This ensures our customers have a routine that works for them. However, challenges arise due to emergencies, such as clients having falls or carers facing sickness. I collaborate with the office to get new carers out in the field to shadow experienced ones. Additionally, as a Care Coordinator, I help arrange refresher training and team meetings.
What does a typical day look like for you?
I rarely experience typical days because each one brings its own challenges. Some days, I allocate new packages, while other days I find multiple messages from carers requesting favors regarding their shifts. I also adjust routes as necessary and perm these into a regular schedule to make being a coordinator easier.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
Managing people comes with many challenges. I must match clients with carers, taking personality compatibility and interests into account. Personal beliefs sometimes factor in as well, ensuring both customers and carers feel happy and comfortable.
How do you ensure that care plans meet the individual needs of clients?
Our management team conducts an initial assessment for new customers. This assessment forms the basis of the care plan and covers essential points. Afterward, we gather feedback from both carers and clients over the first few days of care. This feedback helps us adjust as we get to know each other better.
What qualities do you think are essential for a Care Coordinator?
A Care Coordinator needs immense patience and must be a people person. Additionally, being a bit inventive helps when creating schedules, especially when someone calls in sick at short notice. A good memory also aids in remembering who is compatible with whom.
How do you work with carers to ensure they feel supported in their roles?
I strive to be approachable so that carers know they can come to me with any issues or requests. If they prefer not to approach the office team, I can often handle their concerns discreetly. I have a reputation for running a side hustle for favors, which allows me to assist them while fostering a supportive environment.
What steps do you take to handle last-minute changes or emergencies in scheduling?
I utilize my side hustle to store up favors with carers. This strategy proves beneficial in the long run. Additionally, clients living close together simplify the process of handling emergencies.
How do you balance the needs of both clients and carers?
I carefully monitor feedback to gauge how things are going and address any concerns with the management team when necessary. We sometimes remind both parties that they only interact for about 30 minutes, with another person present as a buffer during emergencies.
Experience & Background
What inspired you to work in the care sector?
Initially, it was the convenience of flexible hours. After having my daughter, I needed a job that worked around my husband’s shifts, and being a carer provided that. Eventually, I grew to love helping clients, especially the cheeky ones who enjoyed an extra slice of cake. I didn’t mind their colorful language; I often laughed right along with them.
How did you get started in the care industry?
I began as a domiciliary carer, going house to house. Afterward, I became a field supervisor at a previous company. I also worked in the office with Catherine. When she opened her own company in Kent, I lived too far away to join her. Between then and when I joined SilverBirch, I switched jobs and returned to being a carer because I missed it.
What led you to join SilverBirch Healthcare?
I joined SilverBirch after working with Catherine over ten years ago when she was a branch manager at a different company. Our first meeting involved me asking my then-care coordinator if she thought I had a helicopter based on my schedule. Catherine laughed, introduced herself, and we worked together to make my schedule more manageable.
What previous experience do you bring to your role?
My extensive field experience taught me the importance of well-planned routes and realistic travel times. These factors matter greatly to those expected to work those routes. I also understand that sometimes I need to adjust my rotas for a few hours or a day during team meetings. This way, everyone still receives their care while the office can complete its necessary work.
Personal Connection to Care
What do you find most rewarding about working in care?
The most rewarding aspect is knowing vulnerable individuals have a better quality of life due to our work at SilverBirch. I find joy in showing love and compassion to those in our care. I also enjoy giving them choices and dignity. While working as a carer, I loved making clients laugh and helping them embrace their cheeky sides, especially during outings.
Have you had any personal experiences that have shaped how you approach your role?
Many experiences over the years, both beautiful and sad, have taught me how to connect with people on a personal level. Sometimes, it takes time to earn trust and affection. Conversations with friends and loved ones who have family members receiving subpar care make me passionate about maintaining the high-quality care we provide at SilverBirch.
Can you share a moment where you felt particularly proud of your work?
I’ve earned a reputation for being great with the most difficult clients. One of my favorites had dementia and a somewhat hostile attitude. She had sent the first two carers packing after ten minutes. However, once I got to know her, I realized her anger stemmed from frustration over her failing memory.
One day, we went for a walk, and I suggested stopping for coffee on the way home. I led us to the nearest pub garden, settled her at a table, and jokingly told her to behave and not talk to any strange men. This made nearby businessmen chuckle and join in the banter.
Beth thrived on her dry comebacks and mock disapproval. I went for coffee but returned with orange juice due to a broken machine. Beth loudly accused me of trying to get her drunk, which amused everyone around us.
After our outing, I took her home sober and on time. The next time I visited, Beth opened the door, grinned, and exclaimed, “It’s you! The naughty one!” Her son appeared from the living room, puzzled about who was at the door. Beth spun a tale of corruption and debauchery from our pub visit that would make a pirate blush.
Instead of correcting her, I winked and added my own exaggerations to her story. After a few moments of confusion, her son realized it was his mother’s humor shining through, not confusion. We all ended up roaring with laughter.
While I’m proud of my mischief-making, the shining moment for me was witnessing a son reconnect with his mother in pure joy.
SilverBirch Healthcare & Teamwork
What makes SilverBirch Healthcare stand out from other care providers?
We build upon a solid foundation of principles and ethics to provide quality, affordable care. Catherine ensures every office member understands our goal: to grow with quality care in mind, not just to expand. We aim to deliver care that we would be happy for our families to receive.
Catherine communicates this message clearly to every carer she interacts with, maintaining our commitment to high standards.
How would you describe the team culture at SilverBirch?
Our team feels like a family. We all take care of each other and lift one another up on tough days. Catherine encourages a good work-life balance. She prefers honesty in how we feel about our roles and the team’s functioning rather than allowing us to suffer in silence.
What do you enjoy most about working here?
I cherish the warm, fuzzy feeling that comes from knowing I contribute to the care of others. Covering everything during particularly trying weeks—new clients, illness, falls, and car troubles—makes me feel accomplished and proud. When I can cover schedules in advance, I also enjoy rearranging them to improve travel times.
Future & Aspirations
What are your professional goals within the care industry?
My goal is to help SilverBirch continue to flourish and grow. In the long term, I hope to expand SilverBirch with more branches, ideally closer to my home. I’m also excited to take more fun courses, perhaps on dementia or end-of-life care. While I don’t necessarily want to pursue professional NVQs, I enjoy learning how to better assist clients.
How do you see your role evolving as SilverBirch Healthcare continues to grow?
As we expand, I plan to take an active role in training future Care Coordinators. As branches grow larger, they will need dedicated care coordinators like myself. I can train new hires and then move on to support other areas for Catherine. The goal is to hire someone familiar with each area to ensure a smooth transition.