Care homes fail to train staff

A third of all older people’s care homes do not provide care
assistants with basic training, according to research carried out
by the Centre for Policy on Ageing (CPA).

The study found training in the basic care of residents was not
provided either during induction or as part of basic training. In
addition, almost half of all homes did not provide basic or
induction training in moving and handling residents, fire safety
and health and safety issues.

The research, which the CPA hopes to publish in July, contacted
418 care homes across the private, not-for-profit and local
authority sectors. According to the study, almost 40 per cent of
all homes paid care assistants less than the national minimum wage
of £3.70 per hour, while only 5 per cent paid more than
£5 per hour.