Care workers and nurses 'to learn together' in new Teaching Care Home partnership

Care England, the largest representative body for independent care providers, has welcomed the launch of ‘Teaching Care Home’, a ground-breaking, nurse-led pilot to improve the learning environment for staff working in homes, undergraduate nurse apprenticeships and all learning placements in care homes.

Alistair Burt, minister for community and social care, is delighted to support the pilots which will play an integral role in meeting the growing workforce demands in social care.

Mr Burt said: “By providing a vehicle for nurses and care workers to learn together, this initiative will foster strong partnerships and develop a sustainable workforce who take pride in providing high-quality, joined up care.”

Professor Martin Green, chief executive of Care England, has welcomed the exciting partnership with ILC UK, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Foundation of Nursing Studies. He said: “Care homes are an essential part of an integrated health and social care system and they have an important role to play in training and developing an integrated workforce.

“We are confident that 'Teaching Care Home' will be an important part of developing 21st Century services that cross the continuum between health and social care.”

Care England has obtained funding from the Department of Health which assists five Care England members from across the country to be able to take part in the scheme. The members are:

• Millbrook Lodge, Orders of St John Care Trust in Gloucestershire;

• Rose Court, HC-One in Bury;

• Berwick Grange, MHA in Harrogate;

• Lady Sarah Cohen House, Jewish Care, in Barnet;

• Chester Court, Barchester in Bedlington.

Berwick Grange, in Harrogate, is delighted to be taking part in the ‘Teaching Care Home’ project to improve how their care and nursing staff train and improve their skills.

The home provides specialist care for people living with dementia and is run by national charity MHA, which provides services to 16,000 older people across England, Scotland and Wales through its care home, retirement living communities and Live at Home schemes.

Berwick Grange home manager, Mandy Scott, said: “We are delighted to have been chosen for this Care England project. We provide high-quality care for people living with dementia so it is important that we have the right staff with the right skills for the job.

“Being part of the pilot will help us look afresh at the support, development and training we give to our nursing and caring staff. It will make sure we not only have the best possible people working for MHA but also to influence how caring for older people is seen as a worthwhile profession for others.”

Sue Allchurch, director of marketing at MHA, believes it is fundamental that care workers and nurses are valued and supported to help them continue to provide excellent care for residents.

She added: “Working on this project with Care England will help us truly understand how we can create the very best learning and development opportunities for them within our care home communities. “It will also help us challenge and change the negative image of care home nursing and showcase instead the essential and valuable work they do – this in turn will help us to influence and persuade the next generation of nurses to join the care home nursing profession."

Deborah Sturdy, visiting professor at Bucks New University and honorary nursing advisor to Care England, commented: “The social care workforce provides complex care for thousands of people living in long-term care settings. It is imperative that nurses and care workers share and learn together; we need to raise the bar.

“Care home nursing teams deliver complex, skilled care in nurse led units across the country. The development of Teaching Care Home is one way in which we can change the narrative of nursing and how it is perceived.

“At a time when it is hard to recruit and retain nurses the Teaching Care Home is a way in which we can help encourage nurses into the sector by creating confidence about their roles, prominence in the wider nursing community and influence the next generation of the profession.”

The launch of Teaching Care Home follows the advent of the Care England/Nursing Times Microsite, a new resource for nurses working in the care sector.

The website provides a community hub for nurses working in the sector and provides an opportunity for care homes and care providers to share best practice.

For more information on Care England/Nursing Times Microsite, visit: http://www.nursingtimes.net/careengland or for more information on Teaching Care Home, visit: http://www.careengland.org.uk/

click here for more details or to contact Berwick Grange