Care homes presented with awards

Gilly Keogh with care home managers Charlotte Goodwin, Chris Taylor, Sally Smedley, Christine Baines, Pauline McManus, Carol Young and Gail Gallagher

Staff from six Rochdale care homes were presented with awards at Rochdale Town Hall  following completion of the Six Steps to Success End of Life Care Programme.

Braeside Care Home, Parklands House Nursing Home, Thames House Health Care, Half Acre House Care Home, Heywood Court Care Home and Briarmede Residential Care Home were presented with awards.

Charlotte Goodwin, Manager at Heywood Court Residential Home, said: “Completing the six Steps to Success Programme has been challenging but very worthwhile and it has helped to further improve the care we give to our end of life clients. Care homes now have a voice and the confidence to approach this subject and this couldn’t have been achieved without the excellent support and guidance we received from the programme facilitators.”

On presenting the awards to the care homes at Rochdale Town Hall, Gilly Keogh, an End of Life Care Facilitator from Pennine Care, said: “It’s been a privilege today to see the care homes receive their awards and gain acknowledgement for the high level of care they deliver to their residents and families at the end of life. The success of this programme is a result of expert facilitators and dedicated care home staff.”

Caring for people when they are nearing the end of life can be challenging and some care home staff don’t always have the confidence to manage residents within the home, which sometimes means they end up going into hospital, which can be avoided. Therefore, the programme covers a range of topics including end of life care planning, delivery of high quality care and care in the last days of life. The workshops are also supported by mandatory study modules covering communication skills, advance care planning and the Liverpool Care Pathway. 

Commenting on the benefits of the programme, Gilly Keogh said: “The overall aim of the training is to ensure that care home residents receive high-quality care when they’re nearing the end of life, by establishing End of Life Care Champions who are responsible for providing up-to-date information to staff, with support from the Trust.

"It’s extremely rewarding to see the first cohort of Rochdale care homes complete the course successfully. There are plans for the programme to be delivered to all care homes within the borough, with the second cohort of seven homes starting the programme in May and a further seven beginning in November.”