The Mill Road based Hospice is the new Cambridge based Regional Centre for the GSF and aims to deliver the programme to Care Homes across the East of England.
Twenty students attended the first of six workshops that make up the training programme designed to help them deliver the very best palliative and end of life care. Over the coming twelve months they will explore topics such as Advance Care Planning and symptom management. They will also have access to “the virtual learning zone” an online resource which will help them to cascade learning across their organisation. At the end of the programme, Care Homes are able to apply for accreditation across twenty quality standards, eventually receiving recognition as an Accredited GSF Care Home providing a “Gold” standard of care. Reassessment occurs every 3 years, to ensure the care delivered is still reaching the standards required for the accreditation.
Arthur Rank Hospice also began their training this week and aims to be one of the first hospices to obtain GSF accreditation. As specialists in palliative and end of life care, Arthur Rank Hospice Charity believes that providing training, education and support for those involved in its delivery is a priority. The programme is being offered not only to Care Homes, but also to other healthcare organisations across the East of England.
The training involves workshops, peer to peer learning, and support from specialists to identify good practice and facilitate change within the organisation. Further courses are planned; anyone who is interested should contact the Education Team to register their interest.
Kay Hardwick, Head of Education and Practice Development at Arthur Rank Hospice Charity, adds: “We are excited to be working with the 8 homes who have started today, the staff involved showed an impressive knowledge of how to care for people approaching the end of life and we are looking forward to building on this and supporting them to Accreditation.”
Those interested in signing up for future GSF courses at the Cambridge based Regional centre should contact Deborah Balkwill on 01223 723154 or email deborah.balkwill@arhc.org.uk (8am-4pm, Monday to Friday) for further details. Costs are dependent on the size of the Care Home.
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