Health and social care training or “primary health care” training as it is often termed, is sought by a range of health and social care organisations. These are intent on ensuring that their staff reach the highest standards of excellence in care delivery for their clients and patients. In this article, Jo Wright of Sequora UK outlines the legal and issues of responsibility that need to be considered if training is to achieve goals.
Overseen by the Care Quality Commission health care training in UK is needed to fulfil legal and ethical responsibility across the health and social care sector where mandatory training in first aid, manual handling, infection control and health and safety are compulsory. Effective care provision goes much further than that as being legally compliant doesn’t necessarily mean being a competent practitioner.
Laws which cover the protection of vulnerable adults such as the Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act should be offered as a training course to all staff working with these groups yet aren’t a mandatory requirement. Professional training providers offer these courses as standard and companies will also opt to train their staff in every day functions which are not necessarily covered by legislation but enhance care planning for vulnerable groups, such as dementia awareness, safeguarding vulnerable adults, the role of the Independent Safeguarding Authority and autism awareness.
Autism awareness and epilepsy awareness courses are examples of going above and beyond the law. Understanding conditions such as autism and epilepsy will garner a greater communication between the care provider and his or her client.
When coming to work in health and social care a good induction is vital into care standards in care delivery and the Sills for Care Common Induction Standards offer such knowledge for personal development and safe practice. General Social Care Council Core Values and National Occupational Standards are key in developing courses that offer staff both a solid induction into the care environment and continued professional development through additional qualifications.
Joanne Wright of Sequora, Liverpool, UK said: ”There are many training companies who provide health and social care training but a ‘one fit all’ solution is barely appropriate in most cases, which is why Sequora incorporates individual company own policies and procedures to into each course, regardless of the subject, to ensure continuity in staff development. While laws and health regulations stay consistent for all, training must be current and written by professionals trained in health and social care with practice experience to consolidate learning.
While high feedback scores are always welcome, I am more interested in personal feedback which shows that the person has found the training course useful and has gone away feeling confident, skilled and ready to practice but more importantly they have enjoyed the learning process.” Medication Awareness and Medication Administration can be confusing subjects for staff with uncertainty about what is prompting and when it becomes administration and what the law says in respect to both.
Infection control courses are a small price to pay so that any organisation stays disease free. Outbreaks, as a consequence of poor training in this field, don’t just mean ill clients and sick staff, but a loss in revenue too. Similarly food hygiene is not only a legal requirement for those working in kitchens, but makes basic sense as another way of minimising the spread of harmful bacteria elsewhere.
“Trainees often go away horrified by what they learn about bacteria and how it contaminates on courses such as food hygiene and infection control. This is absolutely deliberate. The objective is not to shock but to illustrate graphically the importance of good hygiene practice.”
“It’s more a necessity than a choice as to whether to offer training to staff. Only the health care training providers who are fully trained and have the needs of clients, staff and patients consistently at heart will succeed.”
The author Joanne Wright of Sequora is a registered nurse with a specialism in learning disability and is a health care training provider in UK Contact www.sequora.co.uk email jo@sequora.co.uk