Essentials in Care - elearning for healthcare
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This programme is in partnership with...
  • Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent
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About the Essentials in Care programme

Infections, falls, dehydration and/or malnutrition in the elderly leads to reduced quality of life, increased visits to the GP and more frequent hospital admissions and length of stay. The Essentials in Care elearning programme consists of three short elearning sessions designed to give frontline staff from domiciliary, community, residential and nursing homes essential knowledge in care. This resource will not only improve confidence and promote empowerment but also give staff a greater ability to intervene more effectively and to recognise early risk factors and signs of deterioration. By having some basic essential knowledge and awareness, carers and staff can make a difference.

On researching the many causes of admission to hospital for the elderly, it became apparent that causes were often not only singular. For instance, if someone was admitted following a fall, it was found that they were dehydrated, or had an infection. Carers are in a position whereby they deliver continuity in day-to-day assistance in order to meet the individual care needs of the service user/patient. They are perfectly placed to recognise the early signs of change and to provide some of the essentials in care needed to maintain health, wellbeing and quality of life.

This programme was developed as a result of funding received in order to improve quality of life and reduce potential hospital admissions.

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Meet the team

  • Elizabeth Burgess-Havard

    Elizabeth Burgess-Havard

    Clinical Trainer, Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent Partnership NHS Trust
  • elfh-staff-Neha-Baj-learning-profile

    Neha Baj

    Senior Project Manager, HEE elearning for healthcare
  • Stephen Gibbons

    Stephen Gibbons

    Learning Designer, HEE elearning for healthcare
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Open access sessions

Please note that if you access the content below your progress and completion of sessions will not be recorded and you will not be able to generate a record of completion.
If you require evidence of learning, please register and then log in to access this programme on the elfh Hub.

  • The Nutritional and Hydration Needs of the Elderly Person Sample session Link

    The Nutritional and Hydration Needs of the Elderly Person

    This session describes the nutritional and hydration needs of older people and offers guidance on how best to manage the risk of malnutrition and dehydration amongst the elderly.

  • Management of Incontinence and Urinary Catheters Sample session Link

    Management of Incontinence and Urinary Catheters

    This session explores the issues surrounding the use of indwelling urinary catheter devices. Later sections investigate the complications that may arise and offer guidance on how to care for people who suffer from incontinence.

  • Infection Prevention and Control Sample session Link

    Infection Prevention and Control

    This session explores the issues associated with infection prevention and control, particularly those surrounding hand hygiene. Later sections identify the groups at greatest risk of harm and offer guidance on how to refer any concerns over poor practice.

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How to access

Available to all

The Essentials in Care programme is freely available to access here.
Please note your progress and completion of sessions will not be recorded and you will not be able to generate a record of completion. If you require evidence of learning, please register and then log in to access this programme on the elfh Hub.

If you already have an account with elfh, then you can enrol on to the Essentials in Care programme by logging in to the elfh Hub, selecting My Account > Enrolment and selecting the programme. You can then access the programme immediately in the My elearning section.

Register >

To view the Essentials in Care programme, select the View button below. If you already have an account with elfh, you will also be able to login and enrol on the programme from the View button.

View >

NHS healthcare staff in England

The Essentials in Care programme is also available to NHS healthcare staff via the Electronic Staff Record (ESR). Accessing this elearning via ESR means that your completions will transfer with you throughout your NHS career.

Further details are available here.

Not an NHS organisation?

If you are not an NHS health or care organisation and therefore do not qualify for free access elfh Hub, you may be able to access the service by creating an OpenAthens account.

To check whether or not you qualify for free access via OpenAthens, you can view the eligibility criteria and register on the ‘OpenAthens’ portal.

Care home or hospice staff

To register for the Essentials in Care programme, select the Register button above. Select the option ‘I am a care home or hospice worker’ then enter your care home / hospice name or postcode and select it from the options available in the drop down list. Finally enter your care home / hospice registration code and select ‘Register’. You may need to see your employer to get this code.

If your employer does not have a code, then they need to contact the elfh Support Team. The Support Team can either give the employer the registration code or arrange a bulk upload of all staff.

Detailed instructions on how to gain access are available here.

Social care professionals

Access to elfh content is available to all social care professionals in England whose employers are registered with the Skills for Care National Minimum Data Set for Social Care (NMDS-SC). Every employer providing NMDS-SC workforce information to Skills for Care has been given a user registration code for their staff. This code enables you to self-register for access to Essentials in Care. Please contact your employer for more details about the registration code. For information about registering your organisation with the NMDS-SC your employer should access www.nmds-sc-online.org.uk or contact the Skills for Care Support Service on 0845 8730129.

If you have a registration code, you can register by clicking here.

Registering large numbers of users

If you are a HR, IT or Practice Manager and would like to register and enrol large numbers of staff within your organisation for access onto the Essentials in Care programme, please contact elfh directly.

Organisations wishing to use their own LMS

For HR departments wanting to know more about gaining access to courses using an existing Learning Management System please contact elfh directly to express interest.

More information

Please select the following link for more information on how to use the elfh Hub.

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