Service framework success dependent on staff training

Councils must give staff the opportunity to
train so they are ready to deliver the National Service Framework
for Older People, national director for older people’s services Ian
Philp said last week.

Speaking at a Department of Health conference,
Philp said it was up to trainers and managers to ensure staff were
able to take time out from front-line work to learn about the NSF
and develop the skills and competencies required. He predicted that
this would lead to services improving and people having more time
and confidence.

Philp described older people’s services as a
government priority and called for steps to implement the NSF for
Older People to be taken immediately.

“It is not a sprint, it is a marathon,” he
said. “But any race has an end-point. We do have a two- to
three-year period to change things. Given that we have a high
priority, we should be taking that first step now.”

The NSF for Older People was published in
March and outlines eight national standards to improve the quality
of care for older people.

Philp said most social and health care
professionals had reacted positively to the NSF, but they wanted to
know the direct implications for them in their daily work and what
resources would be available to implement it.

The DoH is currently informing people about
the NSF via campaigns in conjunction with older people charities,
as well as meeting with relevant training bodies and with health
and social care managers on local implementation teams.