Dr Eilish Burke, Ussher Assistant Professor in Ageing and Intellectual Disability, Associate Director of the Trinity Centre for Ageing and Intellectual Disability, Trinity College Dublin and Lead Educator on Improving Health Assessments for People with an Intellectual Disability’ on the FutureLearn social learning platform, discusses why it’s important to improve health assessments for people with an intellectual disability.
The first nurses in England to complete self-funded studies celebrate as they approach graduation from the University of Bolton. The non-commissioned pre-registration course was developed in addition to Health Education England’s commissioned students and ensures local talent ‘stays local’, supporting nearby healthcare initiatives.
Eleven student nurses, who this week are approaching the end of their three-year self-funded studies, are celebrating their achievements at the University of Bolton before graduating and taking their places in hospitals across the North West later this year.
Avery Healthcare have notched up yet another first for the adult social care sector with the official Accreditation of their Advanced Senior Carer (ASC) Training Programme by City & Guilds. The course enables senior carers to extend their skills and to further support and assist nurses to ensure that high quality care is provided for residents.
City & Guilds (C&G) is the leading skills development organisation, providing services to training providers, employers, and trainees across a variety of sectors to meet the needs of today’s workplace. C&G qualifications are valued by employers across the world, helping individuals develop their talents and abilities for career progression.
Staff shortages within the healthcare industry continues to be a hot topic in the news as of late, with many employers finding it difficult to not only attract new members of staff, but also, retain existing ones.
This means that employers in this industry need to be on the ball to attract and keep the most talented, hard-working individuals.
Regardless of how much you attempt to protect care home residents from accidents, sometimes injuries do occur, which is why it is crucial that you and your team are always prepared for the unexpected, as you never know what could happen.
As well as ensuring that you are well stocked up with bandages and dressings - something we will discuss further below - it is also crucial that you ensure the entirety of your care home team are trained when it comes to caring for wounds. This should include implementing good hygiene practices to minimise infection risk, as well as understanding a range of methods for dressing wounds properly.
More than 500,000 people in the UK are currently thought to be living with dementia and this figure is rising year-on-year[1]. In fact, the number of people living with the illness is predicted to increase by an astounding 281% in 2050, compared to 2015 figures[2]. Despite the growing number of cases, it’s estimated that one in three care workers have received no formal dementia training[3].
Recruitment and retention are major concerns within the health and care sector, but professionals are being urged to tap into the talents of Generation Z to ensure top-quality staff are on-hand to plug the growing skills gap. Connect2Care, the leading provider of training and apprenticeships in the Care Sector, discusses ways employers can reduce this gap by boosting engagement with young apprentices.
Hypos (hypoglycaemic events) are one of the most common complications of diabetes. They happen when blood sugar levels fall too low, and symptoms include blurred vision, disorientation, dizziness and difficulty focusing.
But how many healthcare professionals have experienced what it really feels like to have a hypo?
Now, for the first time, HCPs involved in diabetes care will get the chance to put themselves in their patients’ shoes at Diabetes Professional Care 2017 (DPC2017). A new Hypo Hub* feature includes a Simulation Station where, with the aid of a virtual reality headset, visitors can experience the effects of having a hypoglycaemic event first hand.
Professor Max Watson is well known as a palliative care clinician and academic and the driving force behind the highly successful Project ECHO in Northern Ireland. The ECHO model uses video-conferencing technology to create communities of practice linking primary care doctors, nurses, and specialist clinicians. It provides expert advice, peer to peer learning and support on caring for patients with complex health conditions in the community, including end of life care.
Healthcare staffing agency Local Care Force, which has offices in Manchester, Sheffield and Leeds, has been shortlisted for a prestigious Nursing Times award in Improved Patient Safety.
Local Care Force is the only agency to be shortlisted across all categories and over 200 entries, and is up against large healthcare institutions such as the NHS and Virgin Healthcare.
Created in 2004 by former healthcare professional Leanne Silverwood, Local Care Force supplies workers to the nursing, healthcare and social care sectors. The agency has 50 staff, comprised of recruiters, medical professionals and medical trainers.
“Recruiting and retaining staff in the care and nursing sector has never been more important. According to Skills for Care, just under 340,000 social care employees leave their job each year. To put this into perspective, on any one day there are 90,000 vacancies for social care jobs in England. Apprenticeships may be the way to address this problem.
It has never been more important to recruit effectively in the care sector, says care home specialist Caresolve.
James Parkin, Co-founder and Operations Director of Caresolve, says many care homes find it difficult to find – and keep - high quality care staff whether that’s registered manager, senior carers or ancillary staff.
He says: “It is a common problem around the country because demand for good quality staff far outweighs supply at present in the care home sector.
“It means that it has never been more essential to retain your staff once you’ve recruited them.
A new care home facility will bring 90 jobs to Scotland's capital when it opens its doors this winter.
Due to open in January 2018, Cramond Residence in North West Edinburgh will be recruiting care teams comprising nurses, dementia team leaders and carers at various grades, activity coordinators, catering, housekeeping, and other support staff.
Managed exclusively by Walker Healthcare, Cramond Residence will offer the finest in person-centred nursing and residential care for older people, in luxurious and comfortable surroundings.
Wiltshire Farm Foods, the UK’s number one provider of home-delivered frozen meals, has launched its first British Dietetic Association (BDA) approved CPD training course for healthcare professionals.
The free two-hour training course, on the subject of Good Nutrition for Older Adults, is written by Wiltshire Farm Foods’ Registered Dietitian Helen Willis, endorsed by the British Dietetic Association and delivered by Registered Dietitian Sue Baic.
This morning, BBC Breakfast, reported that Alzheimer’s sufferer, Sion Jair, self manages his condition*, proving that such a devastating diagnosis doesn’t mean your life is over; an approach The Sound Doctor strongly supports and advocates through their online library of 40 films full of practical advice about getting the best out of life with dementia.
Sion walks every single day, not just to keep his body active, but also his mind. He hopes that by staying active, his dementia will be kept at bay for longer.
World-class films produced by The Sound Doctor and supported by Newcastle University Institute for Ageing, are available to the public online.
Four Seasons Health Care, the UK’s largest independent elderly care provider and a leader in dementia care, is partnering with Active Minds, award-winning specialists in designing activity products for people with dementia. They plan to collaborate to develop innovative new activity products. Four Seasons will also introduce a full suite of current Active Minds activity products into more than 300 of its care homes and will monitor how this improves the day to day experience for people living with dementia.
Technology company Electronic Mar (emar) is hosting a webinar which aims to help care providers to support and empower their staff in administering and reporting on MAR sheets.
The online session will address the key challenges surrounding MAR sheets and will highlight how some of the best care providers in the UK are leading the way in developing best practice around managing the MAR sheet process.
The webinar – ‘How to take the worry out of MAR sheets’ - will also recap on what CQC are looking for during an inspection of MARs; and provide a benchmark on the average times taken to complete MAR sheets.
Two new qualifications to support the training and development of current and future care sector leaders have been launched.
Developed by Highfield Qualifications and approved by Skills for Care, the qualifications are the most up to date in the sector that cover the principles of leadership and management for adult care, and the principles of commissioning for wellbeing.
An innovative e-learning package to support learners and employers undertaking the Care Certificate has received official endorsement from the sector’s lead, Skills for Care.
Highfield elearning developed its course to support the introduction of the Care Certificate and the accompanying workbook. And now the e-learning course has been given the prestigious Approved e-Programme accolade from Skills for Care, while Highfield has been awarded Recognised e-Provider status.
Highfield is one of the UK’s largest educational bodies and was responsible for developing the official Care Certificate Workbook in 2015 on behalf of the Partnership, made up of Health Education England, Skills for Care and Skills for Health.
Martina Kane, Senior Policy Adviser at the Alzheimer's Society, is one of several leading figures demanding more support for people living with dementia and those who care for them.
Speaking as the BBC reported that dementia is now the leading cause of death, she said: “It is essential that people have access to the right support and services to help them live well with dementia and that research into better care, treatments and eventually a cure remain high on the agenda."