The care navigator role and safe boundaries

Safe care navigation relies on clear role limits. Care navigators ask agreed questions, gather information, use templates, follow local pathways, book appropriate appointments, signpost to approved services and escalate concerns when required.

Care navigators must not diagnose, make independent clinical risk judgements, dismiss a patient's concern as not serious, overrule clinicians, or pressure someone into an unsafe choice. If a decision requires clinical assessment, escalate promptly.

Within role

• Confirm patient identity and contact details.
• Ask what the patient needs using the agreed wording.
• Record structured information accurately.
• Use practice protocols and the directory of services.
• Book, message, signpost or escalate according to protocol.

Outside role

• Diagnosing a condition.
• Deciding symptoms are harmless without clinical review.
• Altering clinical urgency based on personal opinion.
• Giving medical advice beyond approved scripts or information.
• Ignoring a patient's concern because the usual pathway is full.

Manager focus: boundaries need system design

When a decision needs clinical judgement, a care navigator's safest action is to escalate, not guess.