Contacts
Contact:
Elaine Bird
St Luke’s Hospice
Organisation:
Little Common Lane
Sheffield S11 9NE United Kingdom
Email:
Website:
Case study:
11 May 2010
Implementing a cluster training programme in Sheffield care homes (nursing)
Key points
- Education sessions within care homes are proving successful and save time and money
- The cluster approach has improved relationships between homes and reduced staff’s sense of isolation
Forty four care homes (nursing) across Sheffield are helping to spread best practice in end of life care by offering training sessions to clusters of six or seven homes at a time.
Many staff found it difficult to attend courses in the past because of transport problems and the time and cost implications of attending training some distance from where they worked.
The new scheme aims to overcome that by bringing the training to the staff.
The sessions, provided by Elaine Bird, a community specialist palliative care nurse at St Luke’s Hospice in Sheffield, are hosted by individual homes within each cluster and focused initially on three topics – end of life care pathway, syringe drivers and verification of death.
The clinical aims of the programme are to help share best practice and improve forward planning, so preventing crises and inappropriate hospital admissions.
But it is also hoped it will strengthen relationships between care homes and reduce the isolation felt by staff working in the independent sector.
So far the turnout at all sessions has been excellent – the only problem being fitting everyone into often-limited space!
Everyone involved completes an evaluation form at the end of the session and is encouraged to suggest new topics.
Managers will also report each year on the impact of the training on practice.
Future sessions are likely to include breaking bad news, bereavement care, communication and care of the dying.
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