Caring for the elderly or individuals with specific healthcare requirements is multifaceted, extending beyond the realms of traditional medical care. Successful care homes not only attend to the physical health of the individuals they care for but also their emotional wellbeing, mental health, and overall quality of life. From mental health awareness to mealtime assistance, this article outlines six skills your care home needs to ensure both the individuals you care for and your team can thrive.
An Introduction to Mealtime Assistance
While the individual should, as far as possible, be involved in all aspects of their food and fluid care, there may be times where assistance is required from your team.
This course covers eating, swallowing and feeding, considering food and personal hygiene at mealtimes, and how to help should an individual choke.
In 70 minutes, your team will cover:
- Dysphagia
- The role of SALT
- The importance of nutrition
- The swallowing process
- Why texture matters
- The importance of thickening agents, and how to prepare and use them
- Basic food hygiene
- Allergens in food
- How to recognise and how to act in a choking emergency.
This course is an introduction to supporting an individual needing mealtime assistance. Further training may be required for those working as a mealtime assistant as an official role within a care home or special needs school.
Behaviours of Concern
Ensure your team has a clear understanding of what is meant by behaviours of concern and why they exist, and empower them with the knowledge required to respond to crisis situations.
This 55 minute course focuses on what can cause behaviours of concern, prevention, verbal de-escalation skills and strategies where restraint is inappropriate. It also explains how to support people involved and where to find additional advice.
Fire Safety
An essential for everyone working in your care home, this course covers how fires start and the four stages of fire, as well as the environmental and personal fire risk factors.
In 60 minutes, your team will learn how to respond to a fire, about safe evacuation procedures and the law and legislation covering fire safety in a variety of care settings.
Learning Disabilities & Autism Awareness
Empower your team with a clear understanding of learning disabilities and autism, as well as some associated conditions and effects. This 50 minute course also explores some key legislation, and explains how best to support an individual with learning disabilities or autism.
This course covers all aspects of the mandatory Oliver McGowan training, and is aligned to the requirements of the Skills for Health Core Capabilities Frameworks for supporting people with a learning disability and for supporting autistic people.
Mental Health Awareness
Ensure everyone working at your care home has an overall understanding of mental health disorders, the laws and stigma surrounding them, and how to implement wellbeing strategies effectively.
In this 30 minute course, your team will cover:
- What’s covered by the term mental health
- Mental health policies and laws
- Some of the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental health
- Some mental health disorders in detail
- How to recognise and implement self-help wellbeing strategies.
Professional Boundaries in Care
This 30 minute course outlines the rules and limits that prevent the lines between care professionals and individuals in their care from becoming blurred.
Once complete, your team will be able to describe the importance of professional boundaries in a health and social care setting, and evaluate and identify, using example scenarios, where professional boundaries could be broken.
Want to find out more about how we can support your care home team’s learning? Get in touch today with our specialist team.
