Mandy Bryant, assistant case manager at Circle Case Management, explains her role in supporting case managers, expert witnesses, colleagues from other departments as well as clients and their network of family, therapists, solicitors, and deputies
An assistant case manager, or ACM as they are also known, has to be able to think on their feet, problem solve whilst remaining calm, multi-task across unrelated projects, stick to stringent deadlines and research some of the most unique products and services for clients.
So with such a varied role, where do you gain the experience and skills to transfer into an ACM role?
“I have previously worked as a private medical secretary, marketing assistant, GP liaison officer and finally I ran my own medicolegal practice,” says Mandy.
Her experience within the medical industry and office environments has helped her to transition into a role where no two days are ever the same. Mandy also holds a diploma in equine behaviour and psychology, which gives her a deeper understanding of some of the services offered by Circle Case Management and the third party services instructed for clients.
Generally, what could a “typical” day look like at Circle Case Management?
Mandy says: “Even though each day is different, depending on what projects I am working on or what a client needs; a typical day for me could be… Dealing with any new enquiries coming in for case management and expert witness services, contacting case managers or experts regarding potential new clients, keeping track of any INA/ICMs going through; what stage they are at and what input is needed, doing any research or tasks requested by any of my case managers such as costings or finding a new therapist, monthly statistics for the marketing department and management, attending meetings, writing third party instruction letters and ensuring that documents and forms up to date.”
Is the role what you expected and do you enjoy the variety?
“I love the team I work with,” says Mandy. “I didn’t expect to be involved in case management enquiries or with the expert team but very glad I am!”
Mandy recently became more involved with the expert witness team, assisting service lead Elizabeth Ackroyd to expand the team and services since Elizabeth’s appointment last year.
Elizabeth explained how vital Mandy is to the expert witness service: “Mandy is an invaluable member of the expert witness team, from dealing with bundles to researching the costs of the services recommended and the right equipment. This allows the expert time to focus on providing a high quality report.”
Supporting the case managers and experts in their role reduces clinical hours which reduces costs for the client and case, whilst enabling the clinicians to focus on their role and responsibilities. ACMs are a backbone for clinicians, and their administrative, investigative and innovative skills are vital to the smooth running of case management and expert witness teams – we couldn’t be without them!
