Training and competency

This week’s blog explores and demystifies training and competency requirements within health and social care settings.

We often think of training and think of being asleep during a training session that’s gone on far too long and is sometimes teaching us to suck eggs. Perhaps. But training is an integral part of care services and plays a key role in making sure things are running safely and smoothly.

So, what’s the difference between training and competency?

Training

Training is a structured session with clear content, often supported by learning outcomes and sometimes a quiz or practical element to evidence understanding.

Training requirements will vary depending on service type, staff role and the people being supported. They will also vary depending on whether someone is new to care or completing a refresher.

Competency

Competency is about assuring yourself that staff are applying their training and knowledge in practice. Common competency assessments include medication administration, moving and handling and infection control such as hand washing.

These are usually structured observations where staff are assessed against set criteria and recorded as meeting or not meeting the required standard. Outcomes should be clearly documented, signed off and followed up where further support or retraining is needed.

From a regulatory perspective, competency assessments are a key way of evidencing that training has translated into safe, consistent practice rather than just attendance at a course.

E-learning or not to e-learn

How do we balance e learning with face-to-face training? How do we get all staff on courses? How do we keep within budget?

These are all things that go through managers’ minds while juggling supervisions, care planning, rotas, wages, recruitment and marketing. The list is endless.

Previously, as a Care Home Manager, I used a provider who delivered a full day of training covering key areas such as fire safety and moving and handling. I had a relatively small team, so this worked well. Some felt this wasn’t the right approach, but my staff actually said they valued having a dedicated day to refresh areas they already knew. I appreciate this model will not work for every service, particularly where colleagues are new to care.

Balancing e-learning with face-to-face training is important and should be based on staff experience, knowledge and role. Some staff may only require refresher training, while others will need more in depth input and support. Managers should use training methods that suit their staff demographic and individual learning needs.

There is a cost to training, but that cost should never outweigh people’s safety.

Think of competency as a way of assuring yourself, as a leader, that staff are doing what you expect them to do safely and in line with best practice.

What do the regulators say Regulatory requirements around training can feel vague at times, as there is no prescriptive schedule or list that applies to every service. This places responsibility with providers to determine what training is required based on service type, risk and the needs of the people being supported.

Regulation 18 of the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities Regulations 2014) states that training, learning and development needs of individual staff members must be carried out at the start of employment and reviewed at appropriate intervals during employment. Staff must be supported to undertake training, learning and development to enable them to fulfil the requirements of their role.

In practice, this means services should be able to demonstrate that training is identified at induction, reviewed regularly, linked to role and risk, and where appropriate supported by competency assessment.

Skills for Care also provides a helpful guide outlining statutory and mandatory training requirements and areas providers should consider.

Further guidance can be found via Skills for Care’s statutory and mandatory training guidance:

Skills for Care - Statutory and Mandatory Training Guidance

Nursing colleagues

Services offering nursing care have an additional responsibility to ensure registered nurses are supported to practise safely and in line with the NMC Code. Providers must have appropriate training and development arrangements in place to support nurses in maintaining competence.

Nurses are required to evidence ongoing professional development as part of their three yearly revalidation process. While revalidation is an individual responsibility, providers remain accountable for ensuring nurses are supported, supervised and working within their scope of competence.

Further information is available within the NMC Code and revalidation guidance:

The Code - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

Revalidation - The Nursing and Midwifery Council

Being inspection ready

A useful question for leaders is this.

If an inspector asked tomorrow how you know staff are competent, could you show them, or would you just tell them?

Training records evidence attendance. Competency assessments evidence assurance.

Services that can clearly demonstrate both are far more confident and inspection ready.