Care Training

Older, Wiser Together, joined Home Instead’s
selection training at their facility in Bagshot

Care Training
Older, Wiser Together, attended Home Instead’s training facility in Bagshot, equipped with a riser chair, Hospital bed and some strange devices for first aid training, including a choking vest to practice the manoeuvres to help a person that may be choking and prevent the situation getting any worse.
myself along with new Part time, full time and live in recruits, that are starting their journey to become care professionals.
All of us in the room are a little nervous to start, even those with previous care experience but this soon melts away as the first of three days starts with a friendly introduction which moves on to a fascinating look at the aging process and a practical exercise to experience some of the challenges faced by someone with arthritis.
This involved wearing gloves with sticks inserted to make it impossible to bend the first finger on each hand and attempting some simple tasks like writing a shopping list or opening a bottle, quite an eye opener.
We then moved on to a section devoted to safety, both for the client and care professional.
The topic turned to building relationships with clients, clearly a high priority with Home Instead.
The second day starts with basic life support, including CPR and choke prevention. Paddy Humphries, Home Instead’s training manager, introduces delegates to their online learning facility, giving new care professionals easy access to ongoing extensive learning.
On a very practical subject, moving and handling, it was surprising how much general advise had changed with so many common practices from the past now so out of date with much safer modern techniques designed to protect, care workers, the client and the client’s dignity.
Dementia is a huge subject and Home Instead provide, further, City and Guilds accredited, training but this session reveals that there over one hundred different conditions that fall under the dementia umbrella. On a personal note, having no background in care. “I did feel that I understood more in 5 minutes being involved in this discussion about Dementia than I have ever known about before.” A real eye opener.
The last day concludes with a module devoted to medication and what rules have to be followed and how easy it is to make a mistake and tips on how to avoid these mistakes.
All in all a fascinating 3 days, new starters with Home Instead in the Farnborough, Farnham, Fleet, Ascot, Camberley and Wokingham areas are even paid to attend.
The delivery of the training was first class, informal in style and covering all subjects in an immersive way to aid learning, much of the credit must go to Home Instead’s Paddy Humphries, for his excellent training management and presentation. Pictured are Jonathan and Julie, being instructed by Paddy on back blows and abdominal thrusts to prevent choking.
For more on client care packages and care work opportunities throughout Northeast Hants, West Surrey and East Berks, call 01252 758716.