As a care provider you have been, for a long time, expected to support the care staff in your employment to be competent in topics dictated by your person centred approach. Recently the Government have introduced a requirement for your care staff to receive learning disability and autism training as part of your CQC registration, forming part of the Health and Care Act 2022. Furthermore, there is a deadline for you to meet, which is the 1st of July 2022. You might suggest that communication regarding the legislation changes could have been improved and the timing of the changes should have been more forgiving for care providers, however adhering to the updated legislation is straight forward:
“Regulations under this section must require service providers to ensure that each person working for the purpose of the regulated activities carried on by them receives training on learning disability and autism which is appropriate to the person’s role.”
The changes to the act apply to both health and social care, with the intention that care professionals will have a better understanding of people’s needs, resulting in better services and improved health and wellbeing outcomes. Autistic people and people with a learning disability should be supported by those with the right skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate, and competent care.
The ‘Right to be heard’: A consultation on learning disability and autism training for health and care staff, published 5th Nov 2019, combined with the well-publicised Oliver McGowan Campaign and numerous enquiries carried out by learning from deaths of people with a learning disability (LeDer) give us all a great opportunity to make improvements in the care provided for people with learning disabilities and autism. Increased awareness will promote the delivery of high quality, compassionate and dignified care and avoid repeating historical mistakes.
At Redcrier we see that supporting care providers to deliver high standards of care and maintain compliance as part of our offering. Our extensive, and ever expanding, list of courses includes Learning Disability Awareness and Supporting People with Autism. Contact us today if you would like help to train your staff so they can deliver high quality, responsive care to support those with a learning disability and/or autism along with their families.
