People hardly ever imagine they will be caught up in a serious incident. Partly that’s because major incidents are rare. Partly it’s because of human nature. We push risks into the background so we can get on with what look like bigger priorities and immediate concerns.
Imagine though, being the care home where a misunderstanding over administration of medication resulted in serious harm to a resident, or even their death. What if there was a major outbreak of e-coli or another serous type of food poisoning? Or a fire?
On a less dramatic level what happens to the care home that experiences a high number of injuries through incorrect manual handling or lifting? Compensation claims and staff absence can be a significant financial cost, never mind any reputational damage.
When care home funds are under pressure the inclination to ‘hope for the best’ becomes stronger. If the way of protecting your organisation, your residents, and your staff involves a significant cost for training, ‘perhaps there are some bits we can put off for a while.’
Does Training Make a Difference?
Research conducted by Community Care revealed a strong link between training gaps and the CQC rating of care providers. According to the research ‘Almost half (49%) of the homes told to improve by the CQC were breaching regulations that require them to ensure a suitably trained and supported workforce’.
There were alarming gaps revealed in dementia care, particularly around Safeguarding, the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (Dols). These, understandably, become the high profile concerns. But several less prominent areas of your operation (like those above) still have the capacity to bring significant risks that could harm or even finish a care home business.
Good quality training needs to be budgeted for. There’s no getting around that fact. But failing to train staff so they are competent and knowledgeable could end up with an even bigger cost (financial, reputational or both). More positively, better trained staff are more capable, more motivated, more loyal and less likely to take time off. So where’s the biggest real cost?
