New workshops will deliver training to support family carers

The upcoming Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool (CSNAT) workshops will prepare practitioners to provide comprehensive training for carers, writes Dr Sarah Russell, Hospice UK’s Head of Research.

In the drive to discover knowledge and improve care, sometimes we forget that simple actions such as sharing an idea or activity can be the difference that makes the difference. Oscar Wilde says this far more eloquently than I: “The only thing to do with good advice is to pass it on. It is never of any use to oneself.”

Providing comprehensive, person-centred assessment and support for family carers towards the end of life is key to good care. Indeed earlier in 2018, Dr Gail Ewing and Professor Gunn Grande supported by Hospice UK published 10 recommendations for achieving organisational change in providing comprehensive, person-centred assessment  and support for family carers  towards the end of life.

UK hospices had contributed to the development of the recommendations (an example of how hospices can be research-active  and contribute to the generation of evidence) and Hospice UK continues to mobilise knowledge into practice by supporting the delivery of national Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool CSNAT workshops.

Facilitated by members of the CSNAT research team and Kay Greene, Director of Clinical Services at Mary Ann Evans Hospice, the workshops prepare services for implementation of the comprehensive person-centred approach to carer assessment and support in practice (i.e. the CSNAT Approach). It uses a ‘train the trainers’ model and aims to have two to three people attending from each organisation. This provides a ‘core team’ who having done the training, can then cascade it within their organisation and support implementation of the tool in practice.

The programme includes:

• Reading materials for preparation ahead of the workshop
• Attendance at a one-day workshop for two to three members of staff per organisation (who will act as ‘CSNAT champions’)
• Access to The CSNAT training and implementation toolkit for each site (with complementary PowerPoint presentation and notes to deliver the training)
• Templates for the CSNAT which can be customised with details about the organisation, including its logo
• Ongoing support for champions via three teleconference calls, hosted by the CSNAT team (Services have found these support sessions very useful as they bring together ‘CSNAT champions’ from a number of organisations to facilitate problem solving, information sharing and peer support).

The workshops are free of charge, but places are limited so book to confirm attendance.

To make a booking and for further details, please contact Dr Gail Ewing

The CSNAT research team is: Dr Gail Ewing, University of Cambridge, Dr Janet Diffin, Queen’s University Belfast; Professor Gunn Grande, The University of Manchester.

For more information visit CSNAT