Our training programme for carers runs for 40 hours over a two-week period. This includes practical elements as well as tuition - and tutorial-based learning. The course is run in modular form, a platform for structured learning for those new to care and support, as well as an important update for more experienced staff.
Following the successful completion of the course, all staff are issued with a Certificate of Competence and are assigned to voluntary placements for up to two weeks in order to provide them with hands-on experience in a care/support environment.
ProgramModules
Module 1. The Care/Support Worker
- The role
- The client/agency/worker relationship
- Professionalism
- Accountability
- Gifts
- Complaints and grievances
Module 2. The Team
- General Practitioner
- Community or district nurse
- Health visitor
- Physiotherapist
- Other health professionals
Module 3. Health and Safety
- Chemicals and dangerous substances
- Electricity
- Fire
- Gas
- Water
- Household hazards
- Infection control
- Food hygiene
- Medicines
- Manual handling
Module 4. Equality, Individuality and Diversity
- Communication
- Confidentiality
- Anti-discriminatory practice
- Prevention of abuse
- Choices, rights and responsibilities
Module 5. Care Management (Community Care Act 1990)
- Assessment
- Care planning
- Service delivery
- Quality assurance
- Operational policies and procedures (as stipulated in our Operational Handbook)
Module 6. Common Disorders
- Infective disorders
- Mental health
- Depression, manic depressive illness
- Schizophrenia
- Irrational fears, obsessions and phobias
Module 7. Personal Hygiene
- Feet and hands
- Bathing/washing
- Incontinence management
- Appearance, dressing, hair washing
- Pressure area care
- Going to the lavatory
- Shaving, teeth cleaning
Module 8. First Aid
- Emergency procedures – fire, flood, gas, electricity
- Heart attacks
- Collapse, unconsciousness, diabetic coma
- Bleeding
- Choking, poisoning
- Burns
- Shock
- Falls, broken bones
- Asthma
Module 9. Manual Handling & Mobility, Risk Assessment
- Regulatory framework
- Considerations – load, environment, individual
- Hoists and slings
- Zimmer frames, wheelchairs
- Ergonomics, identifying hazards, evaluating risks
- Recording and reporting findings
- Monitoring process and review
Following training, new staff are each issued with a guide book detailing the everyday situations encountered in a care/support environment.
We encourage our staff to use this guide as a means for reviewing their performance on a regular basis.