Author
REILLY Mary
Title
Accident prevention in residential and nursing homes: a training pack for use in the workplace with staff specialising in the care of older people.
Publisher
Age Concern, 2000
Summary
Published in association with the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, this training pack includes 39 OHP slides for use in the workplace with staff specialising in the care of the elderly.
Context
The causes of accidental injury to older people are many and complex. In order to reduce significantly the risk of accidental injury to older people the information in this pack aims to develop the skills and knowledge base of staff and as a result enhance the quality of care offered and inspire confidence in those giving and receiving such care.
Contents
An introduction explains that the pack is designed to inform managers and senior staff in residential and nursing homes, health promotion officers, home safety officers, social workers and other professional groups involved with the training of both voluntary and professional care workers specialising in the care of older people. The aims are given as to raise the user's awareness of the multifaceted causes of accidental injury to older people, to broaden knowledge about the relationship between the ageing process and causes of accidents, to enable those caring for older people to assess the risk of accidental injury and to develop safe practices of care, and to enable carers to pass on to colleagues and clients safe practices of care. The objectives are that by the end of the course delegates should be able to demonstrate an understanding of the contributory causes of accidental injury to older people, demonstrate awareness of the relationship between the effects of ageing and causes of accidents, undertake assessment of risk and accidental injury in relation to older people, identify methods of safe practice in relation to prevention of accidents to older people, and inform colleagues and clients of methods of safe practice in relation to prevention of accidents to older people.
Instructions on using the pack are followed by an example of the programme. There follows sections on accident prevention in context, the effects of ageing, accidents and older people, risk assessment, maintaining a safe environment, falls, and the responsibility for home safety. At the beginning of each is a poster advertising the subject, with spaces for the group, date, time and venue. Aims and objectives are set out at the beginning of each topic session, identifying the key points to be covered and the desired outcomes of each session. The importance of full discussion of these with delegates is emphasised, and time is set aside at the end of each session to allow clarification of aims and to ensure that objectives have been met. The teaching plan outlines the content, key points and visual aids for each topic with suggested timings. The sessions are intended to be participative with groupwork used as reinforcement of teaching. Each session is timed at around 60 minutes. If required, timings can be relaxed to allow fuller discussion of a particular topic, but it is best to avoid sessions lasting more than 90 minutes. Standard equipment needed is listed. Each session is supported by handouts summarising and reinforcing its content, and these may be supplied to delegates prior to a training session to provide the opportunity of background reading. Support material includes transparencies, supplied for each section of the course; videos, which when available are suggested for use in conjunction with the course: details are given in the support material section at the end of each subject, and running time must be considered when planning the length of a session; and details of the group exercises included in some sessions, with a note of any equipment needed for demonstration purposes. Suggested reading is also listed at the end of each session.
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