Resources
Useful Links
Here you can find useful links.
Care homes briefing 183 – Competitions and Markets Authority advice on charging fees after death
On 31 May 2018 the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published guidance on the charging of fees after a resident’s death and the treatment of their possessions. A public consultation was held by the CMA earlier this year following concerns about excessive fees being charged following the death of a resident.
EU Settlement Scheme: employer toolkit
The employer toolkit will equip employers with the right tools and information to support EU citizens and their families on the EU Settlement Scheme.
How Dogs Can Help with Mental Health – Mind Boosting Benefits of Dog Ownership
For members running care homes for older people, this article should be read not as resident’s owning and looking after dogs, but as the care home being open to them (either as visitors or living in the care home cared for by staff), and giving many of the benefits mentioned in the article to the residents, and staff as well.
Learning Disabilities Mortality Review
The University of Bristol has produced guidance on how to embed the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) Programme in existing systems in social care provider organisations.
By participating in the programme, you will help to ensure that the learning from every death of a person with learning disabilities contributes to improving practice, both locally and across the sector.
Eating and Drinking Well: Supporting People Living with Dementia
Bournemouth University has developed research informed training tools to equip care staff with the skills needed to improve the delivery of nutrition and hydration for people living with dementia. These consist of a freely available workbook ‘Eating and Drinking Well: Supporting People Living with Dementia’ linked with a training film and leaflet.
Preventative Assessment Framework - I AM SMART
Small changes in a person’s manner and well-being can often be the first signs of a range of illnesses. Spotting these changes early and addressing them quickly is an essential goal for care providers.
The I AM SMART assessment tool has been developed by Insequa as a carer’s aid. Using the tool, you and your staff can:
- help avoid hospitalisation
- prevent increases in the amount of additional care and support required
- provide a big picture record of a person, even when care is delivered by multiple carers
How does it work?
I AM SMART is a mnemonic to help Care Staff spot important changes in the condition of Service Users, thereby helping you provide preventative and safe care and support. The assessment makes it easier to record issues that require observation and offers a go-to framework for easy reference.
Individual
Attitude
Motivation
Speech
Mobility
Appetite
Responsiveness
Temperature
You can download I AM SMART free – just fill in the form to access a PDF with more information and the framework. You can save this to use, print out or share with staff.
Airedale Social Movement - Community Engagement Toolkit for Care Homes
Alzheimer’s Society has been running the Airedale Social Movement Programme in Airedale, Wharfedale, Craven and Leeds since August 2016. This programme is funded by NHS England as part of their New Models of Care; Health of a Social Movement Programme until May 2018. The programme aims to bring local communities into the care home, and put the care home at the heart of the community.
Through our work on the programme, we have set up lots of initiatives in care homes. Different community groups including schools, bowling clubs & arts students have linked up with 8 care homes and are regularly running activities with the care home residents to improve their quality of life, reduce their isolation and ensure they feel part of both the care home, and the wider community.
Toolkit: One of our objectives of the programme is to spread the programme so that others can replicate the work that has been undertaken locally, and this week we have launched resources to support this including a How To Guide for Care Home staff.
Transition to Care Home Nursing Resource
The Transition to Care Home Nursing Resource was launched on Monday 29th January 2018.
The new resource, written by Queen’s Nurse Sharon Aldridge-Bent with input from an external review group of nurses and professionals who work in or have responsibilities for residents in the care home setting, is structured into ten chapters. There are specific chapters on subjects such as the fundamentals of nursing care, safe working and regulation, adults at risk, dementia care, building relationships with family, and career development.
The resource is intended for registered nurses who may have overall responsibility for nursing within the care home environment, as well as educators, students, and unregistered carers who work in this setting. As with its other Transition resources, the QNI recommends that the Transition to Care Home Nursing is used with the support of an experienced mentor.
You can read a full press release about the resource here.
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) to amend English language requirements for applicants trained outside the UK
We have now published the outcome of our consultation alongside the changes to our English language policy and guidance and you can find these at the following link:https://www.nmc.org.uk/news/news-and-updates/nmc-to-amend-english-language-requirements-for-applicants-trained-outside-the-uk/ These will increase the options available to nurses and midwives to demonstrate their English language capability.
The changes to our English language requirements include:
- Accepting a wider number of tests: Currently we only accept the International English Language Testing System (IELTS) test for nurses and midwives from outside the UK to demonstrate their language competence. Our new policy will allow applicants to sit other appropriate tests that meet our criteria. The first of these to be approved is the Occupational English Test (OET).
- Allowing nurses and midwives trained outside the EU/EEA to provide evidence of their English language capability by providing evidence that they have:
- undertaken a pre-registration nursing or midwifery qualification taught and examined in English.
- registered and practised for a minimum of one year in a country where English is the first and native language, and a successful pass in an English language test was required for registration.
These changes will bring the options available for those trained outside the EU/EEA more closely in line with those from the EU/EEA.
This is the first stage of our stock take of English language requirements and we will closely monitor the impact of the changes. Next steps include evaluating other types of evidence, developing additional support for applicants, and exploring the writing element of IELTS.
New delirium quick guide
This new NICE/SCIE quick guide will help care home managers to recognise the symptoms of delirium and to understand what they can do to prevent it. It includes sections on risk factors for delirium; recognising delirium; preventing delirium and sharing information with the person and their family
The guide is available online and in a PDF version that can be printed and used in training.
Quick guides, developed jointly by NICE and SCIE, are based on NICE guidelines and quality standards. They are four pages long and use illustrations and concise text to explain key points on social care topics.
