Over 300 staff from City of York Council’s Older People’s Homes will be carrying out a special training course which will put them in the shoes of a new resident moving in to their care home this month.

The council’s seven Older Person’s Homes are very popular with residents and their families, not least because of the high level of care provided by staff.

It’s hoped that the additional training session will further improve the experience for residents –  and their families – when they enter residential care.

Each member of staff will take part in a three-hour training session which will ask them to put themselves in the shoes of a new resident moving to one of the homes and pinpoint what would be most important to them if they were in that situation.

The ‘Because it matters’ course is in addition to the rigorous, regular training courses that staff undertake and will give the teams the opportunity to reflect on the impact their work has on residents, their friends and family.
Ian McCartney, from the council’s Adult Social Care team, said: “We know that our staff provide high quality care, but the ‘Because it Matters’ course will give them chance to take some time out from their day to day job to think about how they could improve what they do. Providing really great care is often about making sure the small things are right: taking the time to chat to someone who is being more quiet than usual or remembering their individual likes and dislikes.  

“I hope that the course will help re-energise and re-focus staff, as well as showing them how highly they are valued both by the council and care home residents.”
The ‘Because it matters’ strapline was created by a resident who was discussing the impact the staff have on the atmosphere of the home.