During the COVID-19 pandemic we recognise that you and your team (whether you’re in a nursing or residential home or providing domiciliary care) are working harder than ever, to manage and protect the health and wellbeing of residents in your home.
We also know that you and your team’s wellbeing is more important than ever. Find out more about our free mental health awareness training for care home managers being held from 28 April to 28 June.
We have put together some resources (below) covering training on spotting deterioration, key safety messages, and supporting anticipatory care planning discussions.
Using RESTORE2 to spot deterioration
Recognising when a person’s health is deteriorating is important, particularly at this critical time. We are working, as part of the NHS response, to enhance the confidence of staff working in the community in detecting and responding to deterioration.
The British Geriatrics Society (BGS) released a paper, COVID-19: Managing the COVID-19 pandemic in care homes, offering 13 key recommendations to help all care home staff, and the NHS staff who work with you, to support residents through the pandemic.
This guidance recommends care home staff should be trained to spot the early warning signs of residents becoming unwell, where possible using the RESTORE2 tool or soft signs using RESTORE2 mini. These tools may be useful for those supporting people in their own homes as well.
“Soft signs” are particularly valuable where individuals have difficulties in communicating when they are feeling unwell or in pain. RESTORE2 includes the National Early Warning Score tool (NEWS2) and this is suitable for all adults over the age of 16 (except pregnant women).
Staff who care for people with learning disabilities could also benefit from this training, either to refresh existing skills or learn for the first time. Read more about our support and resources for people caring for those with learning disabilities during COVID.
Free training for care providers
The government’s updated guidance on admission and care of residents in care homes during COVID-19 includes use of NEWS2 and RESTORE2.
We offer free training for care providers in the West of England on these vital tools and have trained over 1600 care staff. Find out what our training covers in this short video and book your place below:
Book a place on our free online training sessions
RESTORE2 mini is for non-registered care staff and paid support staff who are not expected to perform observations, and covers “soft signs” of deterioration and structured communication. This training is particularly suitable for non-medical care settings, such as residential homes and supported living, as well as for domiciliary care providers. Book RESTORE2 mini training here.
RESTORE2 includes training on taking physical observations, including using pulse oximeters, and calculating the NEWS2 (national early warning score) and is suitable for all non-registered care staff, as well as being a refresher or upskilling for registered staff. It builds on the learning from the RESTORE2 mini session. Book RESTORE2 training here.
The train-the-trainer session will give those who have responsibility for training and supporting others the skills and confidence to deliver RESTORE2 and mini sessions. Book a train-the-trainer session here.
These sessions are aimed at homes in the West of England region. If you are from outside of the area, please contact your local AHSN to access local training.
In our own words: why RESTORE2 training makes such a difference
Since December 2019, more than 1,600 staff from 195 care providers in the community have taken part in our free RESTORE2 online training programme. 96% of attendees agreed or strongly agreed the training was a good use of their time, 4% were neutral.
Staff who have attended our training regularly get in touch with us to let us know how their use of RESTORE2 is making a huge difference to the care they are able to provide their residents, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Remote monitoring using pulse oximetry in care homes
A webinar, held on 9 February 2021, explained the background to COVID Oximetry @home and COVID virtual wards, and what this means for care home staff supporting residents who are being monitored remotely using pulse oximetry.
Aimed at registered managers, care workers in care homes, Primary Care Network clinical leads, and staff supporting remote monitoring, it discussed why ‘silent hypoxia’ is important, how it works in practice, and the range of support and learning materials on offer.
Visit the AHSN Network for more information and to download the presentation.
Find out more about COVID Oximetry @home and COVID Virtual Wards here.
Free videos: spotting the early warning signs of residents becoming unwell
Wessex and the West of England AHSNs, and Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG, funded by Health Education England, have collaborated to produce a series of free videos and e-learning materials to support staff working in care homes to care for residents who are at risk of becoming unwell. These videos have been viewed over 200,000 times.
Guidance also recommends that care home staff work with residents’ GPs to review Advance Care Plans as a matter of urgency with residents.
The videos are around 3-4 minutes each and it will take just over 40 minutes to watch them all.
There are links below that will take you to specific topics, click on the play button below or here to start watching all the HEE videos.
- These videos are part of Health Education England’s e-Learning for Healthcare (e-LfH) Hub. Follow instructions here to gain certification.
Find out more about RESTORE2
RESTORE2 is a tool to help care homes and nursing homes to recognise physical deterioration and to escalate this information. It was originally created by Hampshire, Southampton and Isle of Wight CCG. RESTORE2 won a HSJ Patient Safety Award in 2020.
Follow these links to download PDF RESTORE2 resources:
- RESTORE2 observations chart
- RESTORE mini
- Implementation handbook
- RESTORE2 Poster for Care Homes
- RESTORE2 Poster (SBARD)
To receive a hard copy pack of these resources please contact our patient safety team.
NEWS2 in care homes
The National Early Warning Score (NEWS2) tool, included in the RESTORE2 tool, can help care homes staff recognise when someone’s health is deteriorating. Using the NEWS2 tool involves taking someone’s temperature, breathing rate, heart rate, oxygen levels and other physical measures.
