TRAINING AND EDUCATION
Ultimately, the best carers are those who may not even realise their untapped potential. They have respect for the people they support, rather than being driven by getting tasks done. They fully appreciate that we are caring for individuals, with real life histories and their own stories and experiences that must be recognised.
Despite their own recruitment process proving successful for their needs, Church Farm Care, like the wider sector, continues to see a definite gender imbalance. It’s really important to attract more men – especially young ones – into the profession to support the male residents and provide a fuller representative mix of personalities and characters.
One of Church Farm Care’s managers - 29-year-old Jack Titterton – is paving the way for young men in the sector, proving that caring isn’t just for females.
Coming from a more corporate background, Jack joined Church Farm Care’s home in Cotgrave and has since proved an absolutely invaluable asset to the Church Farm family, driving the home forward in the latest developments in dementia care, such as implementing the Landielijke Prevalentiemeting Zorgkwliteit (LPZ) programme.
This a safety improvement project in which care homes have been helped to introduce a tool that measures the prevalence of common care issues such as pressure ulcers, continence, nutrition, falls, restriction and pain. The tool was developed by Massticht University in the Netherlands, and Jack was named Outstanding Individual of the Year at an awards ceremony for homes participating in the programme.
Jack said: “There is a definite benefit to having men within the home in all roles - from care, kitchen and domestic staff through to nurses. Males wouldn’t be surrounded solely by
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women in any other area of life, so it’s important that our staff teams and care provision represents that diversity of real life.
“Perhaps one of the biggest hurdles is the job role name itself. While these days there is more gender balance than even a decade ago, when one refers to nurses or carers, our brains still immediately bring the stereotypical female nurse to mind. However, this just isn’t the case – nursing is for anyone, and there is still an educational exercise to be done with the wider public in order to remove any stereotypes or preconceptions – including more awareness of everything that is involved in the profession.
“The soſt side of care is absolutely essential in dementia care. It’s surprising how classic stereotypes of men and women are broken down when you see first-hand how great people of any gender can be when supporting residents through their dementia journey. I see amazing care support from both males and females within our homes. Care is individual and it is about so much more than gender, it’s about the connection our family members feel with a person and is an intuitive feeling. This is what matters and is what drives our model of care and family feel at Church Farm Care.
“However, there is a more technical side of care. Analysing care outcomes, discussion with other professionals, relatives and our family members that lead to changing care delivery and re-analysing to see what works to aim for the best standard of care happens every day. It’s not just about hands- on care, it is about developing improved ways of caring and greater diversity drives better outcomes relating to this. The more diverse range of people we have in our staff body, the wider the range of experience, ideas and talent we have – and that can only be a positive thing for our residents.”
www.churchfarmcare.co.uk. - 45 -
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