Care England 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.
Rt Hon Alistair Burt MP, Minister for Community and Social Care says: “I am delighted to support these pilots, which will play an integral role in meeting the growing workforce demands in social care. 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 OBE, chief executive of Care England says:
“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. We welcome this exciting partnership with ILC UK, Manchester Metropolitan University and the Foundation of Nursing Studies”.
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. These 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.
Deborah Sturdy, visiting professor at Bucks New University and honorary nursing advisor to Care England, comments: "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 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.
