Following a successful intake of over 23 organisations since the launch of our Six Steps to Success programme in 2019, we are delighted to once again be inviting Care Homes across South and Central Birmingham to ‘step on’ to this engaging programme of training and support aimed at improving end of life care for residents and their families.
Due to the challenges of COVID-19, this latest cohort of Care Homes will access their 9 training workshops virtually via MS Teams. Designed with care homes needs at the heart of it, the eight month programme is free to participate in and features newly updated content including current information in regard to COVID.
The steps cover topics such as: the importance of advance care planning (ACP); how to coordinate care with other health and social care providers; the skills needed to have difficult conversations with residents and their families; and the expertise to deliver high-quality care in the last days of life and after death.
Through the training and ongoing facilitation from Birmingham St Mary’s Care Home Support Team, it is anticipated that each home will see organisational changes that not only improve end of life care for residents and families but also give Care Home staff vital new skills and increased job satisfaction.
Speaking ahead of the latest round of delegate recruitment for the programme, Kate Palmer, Care Homes Clinical Nurse Specialist for the Hospice said “As we continue to face this unprecedented situation, we will all have to talk more about dying and end of life care and while we appreciate this is a challenging and busy time for all health and social care professionals, we believe the Six Steps programme can really help support Care Homes through the COVID-19 crisis and beyond.
“What’s so unique and valuable about this programme is that it’s a two-way partnership. While we share our knowledge and expertise about palliative and end of life care with the homes, we also encourage and listen to feedback from them. This ensures we can continue to evolve the programme, like we have recently in response to the needs arising from the Covid pandemic, to ensure we’re delivering the best possible service.”
The Hospice hopes to recruit over 13 Care Homes onto the Six Steps programme, which will run between August 2020 and March 2021. This will see Kate and her team hosting virtual training sessions with the potential to improve care for 796 residents, enabling them to live well with illness and to die in a place of their choosing and in comfort.
To find out more about the Six Steps for Success programme or how the Hospice can support with wider educational needs, please visit www.birminghamhospice.org.uk/courses