South Coast Nursing Homes

Training

South Coast Nursing Homes understands the importance of a well trained workforce. From the moment we employ staff we support them with their training and development.

We take training at South Coast Nursing homes very seriously.

Staff are carefully recruited by management and alongside the requirement for experience and knowledge of within the care industry, it is essential that they possess key personal attributes essential for providing quality and nurturing care that you and family can always expect.

Training at South Coast Nursing Home is comprehensive and effective.

All staff undertake the care certificate as part of their 12 week probationary/induction period. This includes training in the class room, on the floor training and one to one supervision to complete all workbooks and competencies. We ensure that all staff are working in compliance with the Care Act to meet CQC standards. Class room training comprises of all the topics that are integral to the Care Certificate standard and Health and Safety for Induction of new staff. It ensures they have a basic understanding of their role. Ideally this should be completed within the first 6 – 12 weeks to evidence staff have a safe induction.

We also provide handouts and information to support them with their Care Certificate workbooks. This day includes Safe Guarding Adults at Risk, whistle blowing, Duty of Candour, Dementia Awareness, MCA 2005, Discrimination, Consent, Infection Prevention, Hand washing, Standard precautions, Food hygiene, CPR and Choking, DNAR Awareness and 3 hrs of manual handling (Minimum occupational standard).

Existing staff are on a rolling mandatory training programme which includes topics such as manual handling, safeguarding, infection control, MCA & DoLS and dementia.

We also provide training and development for care staff in areas such as baseline observations, catheter care, safe handling of medication and First Aid.

We are also in partnership with the MET which allows our staff to access distance learning and apprenticeships in health and social care.

We aim to make training informative, thought provoking and above all fun!

South Coast Nursing Homes Ltd boasts an in house training department that creates bespoke training tailored to the individual needs of each home and its care skill requirements.

Our approach is unique to peripatetic trainers as our training team are able to work alongside new and existing staff at the request of the manager as often or as little as needed. We believe that face to face training allows staff to experience the human factor and the ability to problem solve and share experiences within a classroom setting. Our training rooms allow staff to come away from the floor and dedicate uninterrupted time to their learning and development.

New inductees always comment on how they have never experienced a more in depth or supportive induction procedure when starting a new job in care.

At SCNH we also focus on core areas of clinical education that are relevant to caring for our clients. We provide a mixture of in house training and outside resource. We are very much committed to getting the best training for our Registered Nurses and we will therefore resource the most up to date training to the given area.

For example, Diabetes; we use local NHS diabetes providers, Urology; we source courses from specialist continence teams, Palliative care; we use the local hospice education programmes. We are supported by a medication training company (accredited by the royal college of pharmaceuticals) and provide all our medication training in conjunction with a highly experienced pharmacist. Wound management training is provided by local tissue viability teams and pharmaceutical companies.

In addition we will support all qualified staff to progress further and study in the clinical area of their choice relevant to our care provided.

Our Training Team

Clinical Director

Rosy Scott

I studied Psychology at Manchester University where I was most interested on health of the individual and how that effected their well being mentally.

When finishing I went straight into studying an accelerated adult nursing diploma at King College London, where I was placed at King College Hospital.

I worked there for a brief time in the renal unit, until I gained a place at The Royal Marsden, to study another diploma in Oncology. On completion I worked in the Royal Marsden Critical care unit before leaving to have my first child. I then worked as a research nurse in Oncology phase one and two trials at St Bart’s Hospital before going to work in the community as a Specialist Palliative care Nurse for St Christopher’s hospice. We moved from London to the south coast where I worked again as a Specialist Palliative Care nurse and at the Sussex County Hospital as a Macmillan Acute Oncology and CUP (cancer of unknown primary) specialist Nurse.

I was then given the opportunity to join South Coast Nursing Homes as a manager, and now as their clinical Director.

I am passionate about excellent end of life care and assisting all our homes with achieving the best clinical care to all those who reside with us.

Training Manager

Suzanne Spears

I have been employed by South Coast Nursing Homes Ltd for over 10yrs. I am very proud of our department and totally committed to the development of our staff.

As well as designing and delivering bespoke training programmes my role is to coordinate the induction process for the new care staff. I make it my business to meet them all individually to mentor them to grow and develop within their team. I offer Coaching and Mentoring for staff who need guidance and supervision.

I have 38 yrs experience in Health and Social Care. I undertook a City & Guilds qualification on leaving school which led me into the Adult Care sector. My background is mainly NHS where I spent many years working in Elderly Rehab. I worked for many years in a community hospital. It was there that I achieved my clinical skills competencies. I was trained and supported by a team of Registered Nurses, Doctors and Therapists. During this time, I became the first HCA in England to achieve a Diploma in ‘Clinical Skills’. This inspired me to want to share my knowledge and skills with my fellow colleagues. I became an NVQ Assessor for Sussex Community NHS Trust, working in partnership with Chichester college. I also developed a keen interest in Infection prevention and control and became the first HCA to become a Link champion for the trust. I still maintain this link to keep current in best practice. I was sent on a short secondment to Crawley and Horsham Hospitals to gain experience as a Facilities team leader which further enhanced my knowledge of infection control and housekeeping.

I have experience of leading a care team and I hold an ILM Qualification in leadership and management.

I am a manual handling assessor. My focus being dignity and de-escalation techniques to ensure our residents have the best experience and the safety of our staff.

I am passionate about Dementia Care and supporting people to live well with their Dementia. I advocate Positive Behaviour Support to enhance well being and meaningful activity.

Training is an excellent place to be. As a trainer or a learner, knowledge is the key to open up possibilities and to make positive changes to people’s lives.

Assistant Training Manager

Carys Storoszko

I am the Assistant Training Manager for South Coast Nursing Homes and have been with the company since 2019.

I support our Training Manager with the designing, and delivering of training sessions for all the staff within our homes. I also support our new staff through their induction process and help them to feel confident, and competent to carry out their roles.

I have worked in Health and Social Care since 2010. I began my career as a health care assistant in a nursing home in Hastings and progressed in my role to becoming a Registered Manager of a Residential care home in Hailsham specialising in providing care for those living with dementia.

I have personally undertaken many qualifications including achieving my level 2, 3, and 5 in H&SC.

During my time in the nursing home in Hastings I gained my manual handling assessor qualification, and it is from there that my interest in training took hold.

I have found that my own background as an on the floor carer, up to management has served me extremely well when it comes to supporting our staff as I have first-hand experience of the difficulties they may be facing, and can offer a good insight to them in how best to overcome these and ensure our resident’s best interests remain at the forefront of everything we do.

I am always keen to further my own knowledge so I can better support our teams to achieve the best outcomes for our residents, themselves, and the business as a whole. I have recently completed my PTLLS qualification, and have trained to become a mental health first aider.

We are all very lucky at SCNH that the Directors, and our home managers are so supportive of training and actively encourage the staff to undertake personal development training so they can further their careers. This is evidenced by the vast number of staff we have successfully been able to internally promote within our teams, and also by the advancement of our staff who have moved across roles.