Bereavement: NES resource

NHS Education Scotland (NES) publish a quarterly Grief and Bereavement eNewsletter which may be of interest to our members. 

This is a document which is emailed to subscribers with updates from the Support Around Death website, which aims to support healthcare staff who are working with patients, carers and families before, at and after death. It provides information on the clinical, legislative and practical issues involved. 

To view the website click here. 

To subscribe to the eNewsletter click here.

 

 

 

SSSC: Request visits

Calling all workers registered with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC)

The SSSC would like to visit services to speak to workers who are registered with them, to find out:

  • how can registration be made more valuable to you
  • what’s important to you
  • what do you need from SSSC and when?

The SSSC would visit your service at a time that’s convenient for you, your staff and the people who use your service.

Would your staff be interested in taking part? Get in touch with the SSSC to find out more by emailing [email protected] or calling 0345 60 30 891.

The SSSC also have a newsletter about registration for care at home and housing support service workers.  Please follow the link to see the first in a series of monthly newsletters to help you get ready for and manage the registration of your workers when the new parts of the register open on Monday 2nd October 2017:

 http://sssc.email/equinitiicslz/lz.aspx?p1=T051S15615941&CC=&p=0

New Scottish Care Palliative and End of Life Workforce Groups

Scottish Care published a report in February 2017 entitled ‘Trees that bend in the wind’.  This report was written following research with front line support workers which explored their experiences of caring for people – in care homes and care at home services – with palliative and end of life care needs.  A link to the report can be found below.

https://www.scottishcare.org/scottish-care-news/scottish-care-launches-new-report-on-palliative-and-end-of-life-care/

We have been overwhelmed with the amount of interest from members – and others – who want to work with us to progress the twelve recommendations made in the report.  We originally thought about creating one palliative and end of life care (PEOLC) workforce group to enable us to do this.  We have now decided that we will have two; one focused on the needs of care homes and the other exploring care at home and housing support services.

The aim of both groups will be to develop a greater understanding of the workforce development needs of people involved in delivering palliative and end of life care, and to generate practical, sustainable  improvements for the workforce.

The first Care at Home and Housing Support PEOLC Workforce Group meeting will take place at 10.00am – 12.30pm on Tuesday 30th May at the Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow.

 The first Care Home PEOLC Workforce Group meeting will take place at 10.00am – 12.30pm on Tuesday 6th June at the Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow. 

 We anticipate this group will meet every three months at various locations.  Depending on the level of interest we may be able to also create local forums.

 Both groups are for supervisors, managers, directors – and front line workers.  It is very important that we have support workers involved in both PEOLC workforce groups. 

If you would like to come to either of these meeting please contact Katharine – [email protected] by Friday 26th May.

Advanced Nurse Practitioner events

NHS Education for Scotland, in collaboration with the Transforming Nursing Roles (TNR) Advanced Practice group, is hosting 3 regional events that will:

  • Inform delegates of the national approach to advanced practice and the Scottish Government’s commitment that 500 additional ANPs will be trained by 2021.
  • Provide guidance on the Service/education needs analysis that Scottish Government will request all Boards to undertake.
  • Share and seek agreement on a set of national clinical competencies for the ANP role in the following areas of practice. These have been identified as national priorities by the TNR group.  
    • Paediatrics and neonates
    • Acute
    • Community and Primary care
    • Mental health

Nominations are welcomed from all advanced practitioners, practitioners/ANPs from the specified 4 clinical areas and service managers and clinical leads who will be involved in undertaking the service/education needs analysis.

Please send nominations to [email protected] by  Monday 20th February.

March 20th    10 – 3pm               Glasgow,  Queen Elizabeth University Hospital
March 24th     10 – 3pm Aberdeen, Suttie Centre
March 30th    10 – 3pm Edinburgh , Scottish Health Services Centre

Health-related care home training sessions in Grampian

Care Home Training Sessions: Feb to June 2017

NHS Grampian Continence Resource service is running a series of training courses. The programme offers dates covering February 2017 through to June 2017. The sessions are open to care home staff and care inspectorate inspectors. These sessions support continuous professional development and can be useful for revalidation purposes.

The sessions are covering a range of health related care topics that will give all staff grades (registered nurses, support staff and care inspectorate staff) an opportunity to update their knowledge that should be useful in caring for people living in and using registered care home services.

Important:  please note that anyone attending would be expected to attend the whole afternoon programme and not just selected sessions as this proves too disruptive to the format of the afternoon.

All places must be booked in advance as places are limited. 

For more information or to book a place please contact by phone or email

Thelma Mackie
Bladder and Bowel Specialist Service Secretary
Inverurie Hospital
Telephone Number – 01467 672748 between 8.30a.m. – 10.00a.m. Monday to Friday
Extn – 72748
E-mail – [email protected]

You can view the full training programme here

NHSGrampianProgrammeForCareHomeCombinedNurseSpecialistsTraining-FebtoJune2017.doc

An exciting opportunity to join the Workforce Matters team

An exciting opportunity has arisen within Scottish Care for a Workforce Development Consultant to join its Workforce Matters team.

Scottish Care is funded by the Scottish Government to provide independent sector engagement around workforce development to ensure that social services employers are supported in:

  • Building their capacity for workforce development
  • Engaging with the workforce to enable their contributions to the development of policy and practice
  • Engaging with relevant advisory and working groups in order to support workforce development

Applicants must be qualified to degree level or equivalent and have significant experience of working at a senior level in health or social services or a related area.  Current knowledge of the national workforce development agenda and experience of managing the learning & development function are highly desirable.

The consultant will operate at a national strategic level; create significant collaborations for independent care sector organisations; contribute to national policy groups and consultations; source expertise and knowledge from key stakeholders; produce reports; gather and analyse evidence; and work across the sector nationally.

The role requires skilful collaboration with key partners in the Scottish Government, Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC), Care Inspectorate, NHS Education (NES), local authority, third sector and others with a requirement to attend frequent meetings across Scotland.

The contract offers a flexible, self-employed home based option and is hosted through the Scottish Care Associate model, reporting to the Scottish Care Lead Workforce Development Lead, Katharine Ross.

Please download an Information Pack and Application Form.

You can also request these directly from Cath Balmer, Office Manager, Scottish Care, 54a Holmston Road, Ayr KA7 3BE or by email from [email protected].

Completed forms should be returned to her no later than 12 noon on Friday 3rd February 2016.

To discuss the role Katharine Ross can be contacted on 07427 615880 or at [email protected].  For further information on Scottish Care’s Workforce Matters workstream please see https://www.scottishcare.org/workforce-matters/

Interviews will be held in Glasgow on Tuesday 21st February 2017.

Entries now open for new Scottish Social Services Awards

‘Putting your head above the parapet’ and ‘silo busting’ are two of the categories in the new Scottish Social Services Awards, launched on Monday 16 January 2017.

Highlighting the commitment of the people in this sector, the awards acknowledge innovation, joined up thinking and a willingness to speak up for vulnerable people.  Other categories recognise those with the ‘courage to take a risk’ and the role of the ‘unsung hero’, who has made a positive difference to people’s lives.

Open to individuals, teams and organisations, the awards showcase the innovation and excellent practice taking place at the front line of Scottish social services.

The Scottish social services sector is a diverse workforce totalling almost 200,000 people across local authorities, the third and independent sectors.  Many people will come into contact with social services at some point in their lives.  When they do they will find a dedicated and skilled workforce that makes difficult decisions every day to improve the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in our society. These awards are about the people and teams who have done just that – made a positive difference for individuals, for communities and for colleagues.

In welcoming the launch of the new Awards Mark McDonald, Minister for Childcare and Early Years said:

“The life changing and challenging work undertaken by the people who work across our social services cannot, and should not, be underestimated. This valuable work is crucial to creating a more equal and socially just Scotland.  The people in this sector should be justifiably proud of the work they do.

“It is therefore right that we start 2017 by launching the Scottish Social Services Awards so that we all have an opportunity to recognise this valuable workforce.  These new Awards will be a great opportunity to demonstrate the excellent work going on across the sector and how people are using all of their values, knowledge and skills to support real improvement in people’s lives. 

“Every day I see examples of the what the people in this sector do to support some of our most vulnerable people – these Awards are the chance to hear their stories and recognise the difference they are making to people’s lives.  There’s a lot to be proud of in our social services, and I look forward to meeting the winners at the Awards ceremony.”

For more information and to enter the awards, visit www.sssa.scot

Shortlisted award entries will be invited to attend an awards ceremony in June 2017 at Crieff Hydro Hotel.  Nominations are open until 28 February 2017.

Supporting Solace event Wednesday 8th February 2017

Supporting Solace

‘Trees that bend in the wind: Exploring the experiences of front line support workers delivering palliative and end of life care’

   Wednesday 8 February 2017

10.30am – 2.00pm

The Renfield Centre, 260 Bath Street, Glasgow, G2 4HZ

Throughout November 2016 Scottish Care has been undertaking research with front line support workers within our member organisations exploring their experiences of palliative and end of life care (PEOLC).  This is one part of a project being undertaken by Scottish Care, the purpose of which is to:

 

•    Gain an understanding of the level and range of PEOLC support being delivered throughout the independent care sector, and any challenges associated with this delivery

•    Identify the current skills, plus the training needs, of the front line care workforce in the independent sector

•    Explore the emotional, psychological and spiritual impact on front line staff of delivering PEOLC

•    Identify any recommendations which would better support PEOLC delivery within an integrated workforce environment

•    Identify innovative and best practice around PEOLC provision within the independent sector

 

We had a tremendous amount of interest in this research from organisations and individuals, demonstrating both the relevance and importance of hearing the experiences and ideas of the expert workforce at the front line of social care in Scotland.   We are currently writing a report on our findings which will be launched on Wednesday 8 February 2017.

Full details of the event can be found here  (click to view)

Everybody who participated in the research has been invited to this event.  However we anticipate being able to invite more Scottish Care members (including front line support workers) who are involved in the delivery of PEOLC, or are interested in this particular subject area.

 

To express interest in attending this event please contact Katharine Ross – National Workforce Development Lead – [email protected]  before Friday 13th January 2017

We would hope to be able to confirm your place at this event the week beginning 16th January. 

 

Over the coming weeks we will be sharing updates and information on our Workforce Matters Website www.scottishcare.org/workforce-matters  and on Twitter @WorkforceMatte1 and @scottishcare

Please don’t hesitate to contact me if you would like more information.

Katharine Ross

National Workforce Development Lead

Scottish Care

www.scottishcare.org

01292 270240