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Care Navigators

HCL’s Care Navigators provide essential services to GP practices and some of their most vulnerable patients, based in the practices themselves. 

Our team of Care Navigators are based across all 32 member practices in the HCL federation, and works Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.  

They support patients with additional needs through personalised care, coordination and community referrals. Care Navigators are a key part of the wider clinical team and play an important role in making sure patients are connected to the right services at the right time. 

Care Navigators focus on building relationships with their patients so they know they can turn to them if they need help.

They sit within multi-disciplinary teams — a collection of clinicians and therapists who come together to discuss what a patient needs. They work closely with clinical and community services to act as a safety net for patients, making sure they are receiving the best care for them.

A young woman with long curly hair is smiling warmly while engaged in conversation with another person whose face is not fully visible. She is wearing a green plaid jacket over a maroon ribbed turtleneck sweater. The setting appears to be outdoors in an urban or public space with a softly blurred background. The woman represents a care navigator, offering approachable and supportive communication, possibly in a healthcare or community service context.

What Care Navigators do

Family Navigators build relationships with families and help them access key services when needed, like education, health or housing services.  

They’re also linking points between schools and GP practices, and act as a first point of contact for families to help build a community network around them. 

The Family Navigators are employed by Westminster Council, and the service is funded by the HCL Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS), until April 1, 2025. 

Who do Family Navigators help?

Care Navigators can support patients with the following (plus more in some cases): 

  • Proactive care plans 
  • Dementia care plans 
  • Learning disability care plans 
  • Care home care plans 
  • Dementia support for patients and carers 
  • Benefit calculator support 
  • Housing support 
  • Form filling 
  • Community referrals (e.g. physiotherapy, district nurses, social services) 
  • Service follow-ups 
  • Transport booking 
  • Signposting 

Care Navigators help follow up on appointments and referrals, making sure patients have been contacted by the right service. If not, they will chase this up, so no one is missed. They also work to build strong, trusting relationships with patients, so they feel confident reaching out for support. 

Who Care Navigators support

Care Navigators often work with adults who have moderate or severe frailty — typically older patients who may be at risk of falling or needing hospital admission. These patients are reviewed annually to see if their needs have changed. 

How Care Navigators work

Appointments with a Care Navigator are telephone consultations. During the call, the Care Navigator will check that care is in place and confirm all the appropriate services have been contacted or involved. They also respond to community referrals, provide follow-ups, and signpost patients to additional support. 

Care Navigators are an active part of multidisciplinary teams (MDTs), including both primary care (frailty) and secondary care (high intensity user) MDTs. They work closely with clinicians, therapists and community services to coordinate care, so nothing is missed. 

What can you expect in your appointment with a Care Navigator?

  • Appointments are always a telephone consultation.  
  • You will receive a call as a follow-up to confirm that all your needs have been met and the correct professionals have called or seen you. 
  • If this is not the case, the Care Navigator will chase up services up and ensure you are seen.  

Where do they run their service and when?

Care Navigators work across all 32 member Practices in the Healthcare Central London Federation. They work Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm. 

What patients say

“I’m so happy that there’s a Care Navigator programme in place, and both my mother and I are very grateful for your excellent service.” 

Recap on Care Navigators

  • A direct point of contact for vulnerable patients 
  • Help make sure care is connected and complete 
  • Improve awareness of community services available outside the practice 

Join our team

We publish the latest Care Navigator and other HCL job opportunities on our Careers page and LinkedIn profile.

 

 

 

 

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