A team who deliver training to care home staff across the area have successfully rolled it out virtually in response to COVID-19.
The North Tees and Hartlepool Education Alliance team have transformed the way they run the training.
With a very short time period, the team have worked with care homes to carry out the training through Microsoft Teams.
The training aims to help care home staff improve care. It includes
- End of life care
- Dementia and delirium training
- Hydration and nutrition
- Falls awareness
- Respiratory
- Oral health
- Wellbeing of the frail and elderly
Care home staff are trained to use the national early warning score (NEWS). It is a way of measuring residents who are acutely ill and lead to an appropriate diagnosis.
The team is made up of:
- Clinical educators and support staff
- Respiratory specialist nurses
- Oral health promotion advisors
- Falls prevention teams from Stockton Council and Hartlepool Council
- Staff from Tees Esk and Wear Valley NHS Foundation Trust and Alice House Hospice in Hartlepool
Embracing change
Karen Hampshire, clinical educator, said: “Before the outbreak of the pandemic, we had successfully rolled this training out to the vast majority of care homes across Stockton and Hartlepool.
“We had a real momentum. Staff were very pleased with what we were delivering. And care home residents were benefitting.
“When COVID-19 started, we were determined we would do everything we could to keep the training going. The task was very challenging – we had many care homes who initially found it very difficult to set up the technology they needed to take part.
“But – because all of the care homes and staff embraced this change – we have successfully moved across into virtual training.
“If anything, we are now able to reach more homes and more staff in a faster way. The clinical educators and the wider team can be running training for several homes and staff at any one time.
“It’s thanks not only to the positive attitude of these care homes but also the fantastic teamwork from everyone in the training team and with our wider partners who have made this possible.”
The training is part of an alliance with Stockton Borough Council and Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.