This Dementia Action Week, we’re delighted to launch an updated version of our bespoke dementia training programme, making it easier for people to learn knowledge and skills to support someone living with dementia.
Launched in 2016, our dementia training programme recognises that many of the 944,000 people with dementia in the UK are keen and able to continue living at home. Thousands of our Care Professionals nationwide have completed our City & Guilds Assured training, supporting adults with the challenges that dementia can bring. Soon after the launch, the programme won a Princess Royal Training Award.
Keen to further the programme’s success, we have given it an update with the view to boost the amount of Care Professionals able to deliver the specialist care. The programme has a blended approach, consisting of eLearning, virtual delivery and in-person sessions, making it easier for people to undergo the training while still benefitting from face-to-face teaching.
The virtual modules cover key factors of dementia, including its effects on the brain, the typical behaviours of somebody living with the condition, and how to interact with them. This leads to a practical face-to-face session where learners are given scenarios involving someone with dementia and discuss how they would respond.
Care Professionals learn how to provide support with utmost empathy, from making mealtimes easier to adding elements to the home (such as labelled cupboards) so that the client can continue living safely and independently.
Tim Howell, Learning and Development Partner at Home Instead UK, says: “Dementia is a condition that doesn’t just affect the individual, it affects their family and others
around them too, who are concerned about seeing their loved one’s health decline. Our training programme equips people with the knowledge and practical skills to support people living with the condition at home. As a safe pair of hands, our Care Professionals provide families with much-needed reassurance.
“Our dementia training has certainly gone from strength to strength and we’re excited to innovate it. With a blended approach – virtual and face-to-face – we’re making it more accessible. People can do some of it at home and fit it around other commitments, and at 10 and a half hours, the training is now more streamlined.
“As dementia becomes more prevalent, we need to meet the demand for this specialist care. I look forward to seeing more of our Care Professionals add dementia care to their skill-set and thrive in their roles – it will only become an increasingly sought-after skill in the care sector.”