A case manager coordinates care for someone whose needs cross several services at once, a role that is organisational in nature rather than clinical. The work involves assessing what is actually needed across a person's whole situation, arranging referrals to the right services, chasing appointments that might otherwise slip through gaps between services, and making sure that the professionals involved are properly aware of each other's input.
Where this role matters most
This kind of coordination matters most for people whose situation involves mental health, physical health, housing, benefits and social care all at the same time, a combination where fragmented, poorly connected care is genuinely common and can leave someone falling between services rather than being properly supported by any of them.
Advocacy when something stalls
Part of the role is straightforward advocacy, stepping in when something stalls or when a person's needs are not being properly communicated between the services involved. In UK NHS mental health services, this same function is usually carried out by a care coordinator, a role built around exactly this kind of joined-up oversight.