Resources for Health and Social Care Staff

St Nicholas Hospice Care’s Education Department delivers external training sessions to health and social care professionals within your allocated training venue.

We can deliver training on the base topics outlined below. If you feel you have a training requirement that is not covered here, we can create a bespoke session to meet your needs.

Please inform us of the type of roles of the staff attending our sessions and we can then ensure the session is pitched to the level of the attendees, ensuring our training is appropriate for your needs. Sessions range from one hour to our one-day end of life training courses, incorporating many of the sessions listed below.

Please contact our education department for more information or if you would like to arrange a training session.

To find out about our upcoming course dates, please click here. To view a summary of all the training courses we offer for Health and Social Care staff, please click here.

Psychological Services training resources

Our Psychological Services Team has also provided some online resources for those working in palliative care and bereavement. You can access these resources by clicking here.

Training sessions

Communication (suitable for all)

• Difficult Conversations
  • This session aims to:
    Explore essential communication skills
    Consider the barriers to effective communication
    Provide helpful tips in initiating dialogue and responding to difficult questions
• Communication/ Documentation
  • This session aims to:
    Look at why we need good/relevant communication and governance
    Enable staff to use tools to record clear and more defined records in accordance with policies
• Gravetalk
  • This session aims to:
    Encourage people to think and talk about; life, society, death, funerals and grief
    Enable and empower participants to have conversations on life’s challenges with their community, colleagues/peers, family and friends

• Emotional Resilience
  • This session aims to:
    Raise awareness of how to support someone through adverse or difficult situations
    Improve confidence when managing difficult or complex situations
    Recognise the strengths, protective factors, vulnerabilities and adversities using a reflective tool

Advanced Care Planning (suitable for all)

• My Care Wishes
  • This session aims to:
    Explore the My Care Wishes documentation in the Yellow Folder
    Using scenarios, experience completing the forms and how to initiate the conversation
• DNACPR / Tissue Donation
  • This session aims to:
    Look at the policy around DNACPR
    Discuss organ and tissue donation
• Advanced Care Planning and Mental Capacity Act
  • This session aims to:
    Consider Lasting Power of Attorney
    Discuss ‘Best Interests’

Practical Issues (suitable for all)

• Providing Personal Care; Skin and Pressure Area Care
  • This session aims to:
    Provide health and social care professionals with the knowledge and tools to understand the best practice in recognising and managing pressure area care
    Reference to National Guidance and risk assessment tools particularly in relation to End of Life Care
• Providing Personal Care; Performing Mouth Care at End of Life
  • This session aims to:
    Provide the health and social care provider with the knowledge and tools of why and how to ensure every person in their care receives good oral hygiene
    Include National Guidelines, causes of poor oral health with do’s and don’ts and assessment tools
• Comfort Measures
  • This session aims to:
    Identify and discuss ways in which you can support a person who is dying to be more comfortable in the last days of life.
    Some of the areas of discomfort we will look at are:
    Pain
    Breathing problems
    Skin irritation
    Digestive problems
    Temperature sensitivity
    Fatigue

What Makes You You (Spiritual Care)
Knowing what is important to your residents in terms of their identity, beliefs and values
A valuable session to increase your awareness around the meaning of spirituality and identify ways in which you can support your residents’ spiritual needs.

Dementia (suitable for all)

• Dementia – Principles and Practice in Palliative Care
• Dementia – Supporting the Bereaved

Compassionate Caring (suitable for all)

• Dignity in Care
• Overarching Principles of Palliative Care
• Last Aiders

Deteriorating Residents (suitable for all)

• Recognising Deterioration
  • This session aims to:
    Raise awareness of how to recognise someone who is deteriorating
• Falls / Frailty
  • This session aims to:
    Recognise the prevalence and impact of falls on the wellbeing of someone with long term conditions
    Improve confidence in assessing risk of falls, implementing measures to help prevent falls and appropriate actions in the event of someone falling
• Infection Awareness
  • This session aims to:
    Raise awareness of the impact of infections on people with long term conditions, frailty and palliative care needs
    Enable health and social care professionals to recognise common signs of symptoms of infection and actions to relieve these

Symptom Management

• Pain Management
• Breathlessness Management
  • This session aims to:
    Explore breathing, thinking and functioning model of care
    Consider some tools to manage episodes of breathlessness using a non-pharmacological approach
• Last Days of Life
• Syringe Pump and ‘Just in Case’ Medications (suitable for RNs only)
  • Training for Registered Nurses about the CME Medical T34 Syringe Pump and “Just in Case” Medications used with this Syringe Pump
  • This session will include:
    Rationale for syringe pump use
    Setting up and monitoring a CME Medical T34 pump
    “Just in Case Medications” for use in these syringe Pumps for End of Life Care
    A certificate of attendance will be issued. This is not a certificate of competency. Participants will need to arrange to be assessed for competency in their place of work.
• Grief and Bereavement
  • This session aims to:
    Raise awareness of how to support someone with their experience of loss
    Look at the meaning of grief, for adults and children, normal experiences of grief, feelings and processes
    Look at what is helpful and where to signpost for individuals
• Care After Death
• Verification of Expected Death (suitable for RNs only)
  • Training for Registered Nurses to achieve competence in verifying expected deaths
  • This course will include a 3 hour training session and a follow up VIVA assessment
  • The course will cover:
    The legal requirements in relation to verification of expected deaths
    The parameters of the role of nurse verification of expected deaths
    Competence in performing physical checks to confirm the fact of death
• One Day End of Life Care Training (six hours)
  • This one day training session is made up of five training sessions from above to create a comprehensive theoretical training session to promote a holistic approach to support the needs of individuals and their families facing death and will include:
  • Core morning sessions:
    Overarching Principles of Palliative Care
    Difficult conversations at end of life
    Advance Care Planning – My Care Wishes
    Symptom management
  • Optional afternoon sessions:
    Grief and Bereavement
    Frailty
    Breathlessness
    Care after death
    Mouth care
    Pressure area care
    Comfort measures
    Dignity in care
    What makes you you (spiritual care)

Organisations that provide Professional Healthcare within West Suffolk and wish to undertake a group training session facilitated by St Nicholas Hospice Care may not incur a charge for training if they can provide the venue, refreshments (full day training) and a minimum of six attendees. For more information please contact our education department.

To find out about our upcoming course dates, please click here.