Day In The Life Of A Care Manager

In a typical day in the life of a care manager, you’ll be responsible for all aspects of the day-to-day operations within the care setting, including recruiting and managing staff, managing budgets and ensuring that the quality of the services provided meets national care standards.

Care homes are becoming more specialised services, especially for people living with dementia or those at the end of life, and you’ll be responsible for homes that provide all-year, round-the-clock care.

Job Duties

A day in the life of a care manager includes being responsible for meeting national minimum standards of care issued by relevant bodies.

Roles can vary depending on the setting, but you’ll typically need to ensure the delivery of quality, person-centered care and manage budgets and the financial effectiveness of the setting. In addition to this, you will be expected to recruit, train and supervise staff whilst delivering training.

You’ll also need to ensure any regulatory activity, such as personal care and administering medicines, is delivered within regulations and provide information, advice and support to residents’ families. As part of personal care, you may have to organise activities for residents and actively promote their independence.

This job position will require time to spent in the office completing paperwork and visiting carers or residents in the care home setting. Although the role can be challenging, there is now an increased focus on and commitment to providing support and training to those in leadership roles within adult social care.

Skills Needed

You’ll need to have:

• excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and the ability to communicate with a range of people using a variety of communication methods
• excellent written skills for writing reports
• a passion for working with people and providing person-centred care
• leadership and management skills, with the ability to motivate others
• the capacity to work under pressure and to take a problem-solving approach to work
• effective organisational and time-management skills with the ability to prioritise your own and other’s workload
• numerical skills for managing budgets
• an understanding of accountability to ensure compliance with company policies and regulatory requirements.

Career Prospects

There are various options available for managers looking to progress their careers. Large healthcare companies or charities offer regional manager opportunities, which carry the responsibility of overseeing a number of provisions within a regional area. For a different perspective in social care management, you could move between frontline operational roles into strategic roles such as commissioning posts with local authorities and NHS trusts.