Your health

The NHSGGC Care Home Collaborative are committed to celebrating excellent in everday practice and fostering a culture of continuous learning with the Care Home nursing workforce across the NHSGGC region.

From conversations with Care Home registered nurses (RNs) over the past three years it has been identified that better support through enhanced professional development, recognition, and a stronger sense of value is needed.

This opportunity will support RNs from Care Homes (of all experience levels) in documenting, evaluating and recognising the value of their ongoing professional development. Participants will collaborate with senior colleagues and receive support and guidance in using the Turas Professional Portfolio to create a comprehensive record of evidence that highlights their expertise and experience in their speciality area of Care Homes.

Our vision is to empower Care Home nurses to take ownership of their career progression, acknowledging the breadth and depth of their skills and experiences throughout their journey as a professional. This initiative will support current best practice in care homes and promote future career planning for Care Home RNs and help those aspiring to transition into specialist, leadership, or advanced roles.

Further information will be published in the coming weeks, and support sessions will start on 1st September 2025 from 1pm -1.30pm via MS Teams (running approximately every 1-2 weeks for the next 2-3 months). 

The first session ‘Session I – Introduction’ will run five times repeatedly within the week (Monday – Friday). Please click below to register:

The second session will show you where to find the Turas Professional Portfolio, how to set up an account and how to navigate the portfolio. These will take place on the dates below:

• Monday 8th September – 12pm – 12.30pm – MS Teams
• Tuesday 9th September – 12pm – 12.30pm – MS Teams
• Wednesday 10th September – 12pm – 12.30pm – MS Teams

If you have not attended the first session, please contact the Care Home Collaborative to discuss.

This study day presents an opportunity to help increase Care Around Death knowledge and skills. Using a case study approach this day will enable participants to learn and share practice with each other whilst taking into consideration relevant local and national guidance.

This study day meets ‘Enhanced’ level on Domain #2 of the NES Palliative and End of Life Care Education Framework.

Click on the link below for more information and upcoming dates.

This development day will be a multi-specialist learning event, bringing together a range of professionals to share knowledge and best practice.

Speakers will cover a variety of areas noted below related to falls prevention.

• Reducing Falls
• Rehabilitation Services
• Interactive Sensory Workshop
• Continence
• Medication and Falls

Free parking is available at the venue. Tea and coffee will be provided and there is a cafe onsite to purchase lunches.

Caring for Smiles is Scotland’s national oral health, training and support programme, which aims to improve the oral health of older people particularly those living in care homes.

Education and training of staff play an important role in the delivery and improvement of oral care. All care staff including supervisors and managers are encouraged to take up Caring for Smiles training where it is available.

Staff are invited to attend a 2 hour training session between 2.00pm – 4.00pm, delivered by the NHSGGC Oral Health Directorate.

Care Home Collaborative

The NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) Confirmation of Death (CoD) policy permits any trained Registered Health Care Professional to confirm death in any circumstance.

The Care Home Collaborative sessions provide an overview of the national learning resources, provide an opportunity for reflective discussion, simulation and competency sign off.

These are 2 ½ hours sessions which are delivered face to face, with rotating venues.

The aim of the session is to familiarise care home registered nursing staff with the process of Confirmation of Death.

Learning Outcomes

• Identify the difference between Confirmation of Death and certification of death

• Understanding and undertaking the practical component of CoD

• Demonstrating knowledge of navigation of NHSGGC palliative care website/Moodle and other relevant electronic resources

• Overview the NHSGGC COD competency document

Please use buttons below to contact us

Delirium is a serious, life threatening condition that develops rapidly over days or hours. When untreated delirium can lead to poorer outcomes for care home residents.

Would you like to find out more about how to reduce the risk of your residents developing delirium? Click below to register for our upcoming sessions.

Care Home Collaborative

The Essentials in Psychological Care – Dementia Training Programme delivered by the Care Home Collaborative is a certificated, exciting training programme that will increase your existing dementia knowledge, in a practical way to help you support the people you care for.

Modules

1: Dementia and Unmet Needs

2: Understanding Distress in Dementia

3: Understanding the Persons’ Reality

4: Communication

5: Stimulation and Meaningful Activity

6: ABC Charts

7: Staff Stress and Distress

Learning Outcomes

• To enhance understanding of the causes of distressed behaviours in dementia.
• Explore evidence-based proactive and preventative strategies and be able to apply these effectively.
• Improve the experience and care for people living with dementia, their families and carers.

Please book online using the buttons below

The Unscheduled Care Design & Delivery Plan 2021-24 aim was to support and maintain individuals safely within the community either at home or in a homely setting. Over the past few years, the Community led improvement programme now branded as HomeFirst has delivered a number of projects offering alternatives to unscheduled care with the development of new pathways, services and systems with a focus on prevention, early intervention and expediting discharge.

The Care Home Learning Forum aims to bring together Registered Nurses across all care homes, HSCPs teams and acute settings to share experience and practice across the NHSGGC area.

We aim to recognise, celebrate and highlight the impact of nursing practice in the care home setting, and establish a supportive community of learners and peer support networks. The 90min online sessions are designed to support accessible bite sized learning opportunities for busy RNs and are jointly chaired by RNs from Care Homes and HSCP teams.

Mobile Skills Unit (MSU)

The Mobile Skills Unit (MSU) was developed to support the delivery of clinical skills training and education to all across Scotland.

The CHC team will be in Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2025 with the bus offering clinical skills sessions to care homes.

Register your interest to find out more about our October 2025 care home programme.

Care Home Collaborative

Are you interested in new ideas to promote meaningful activities for your residents? Would you like to share your good news stories and celebrate successes with other care homes? Then this is the event for you!

The Care Home Collaborative would like to invite you to join us at our next ‘Meaningful Activity Network Meeting’ as we continue our conversation about meaningful and purposeful activity. We are hosting this event in partnership with Care Inspectorate’s Health and Social Care Improvement team.

Care homes who attended our first meeting indicated their keen interest in being involved in a network where they could support each other and share ideas, including information and resources which would enhance the provision of activities for care home residents. We have listened to your feedback and opened this to all care home staff (Managers, Nurses, carers, activity coordinators, catering, housekeeping, etc.).

Please click on the link below to register

This webinar is open to all care home staff who would like an update on MUST and MUST Step 5. It will help refresh knowledge of each step of the MUST screening tool, including calculation of scores. It will also cover MUST Step 5 and explain how to complete the form.

This is vital in supporting nutritional care for residents and identifying risks.

Session Aims

• Refresh knowledge of the MUST pathway
• Learn to calculate total MUST score from steps 1-3
• Refresh knowledge of MUST Step 5 paperwork

Learning Outcomes:

• To accurately calculate MUST scores
• Complete MUST Step 5 paperwork and reviews confidently

Please click on the link below to register for this webinar.

Caring for Smiles is Scotland’s national oral health training and support programme.

Education and training of staff play an important role in the delivery and improvement of oral care. All care staff including supervisors and managers are encouraged to take up Caring for Smiles training where it is available.  

NHSGGC

• FREE online communication skills workshops.

SAGE & THYME workshops support all care home staff in using the evidence based skills required to provide person-centred support to residents and relatives with emotional concerns or worries. Using a mixture of group work, lectures and videos, the workshop discourages staff from ‘fixing’, and demonstrates how to work with the residents’ own ideas and solutions first.

Using a memorable structure, each 2 hour 45 minutes online workshop delivered via zoom reminds staff how to listen, and how to respond to distress in a way which empowers the resident or relative.

These FREE online workshops are delivered via Zoom for anyone working in health and social care.

Multiple dates AM and PM options – click below for further details and booking information

May – July 2025 Sage and Thyme dates

• NHSGGC Palliative Care Education and Training Calendar

Macmillan Cancer Support

Macmillan Enhanced Palliative & End of Life Care Learning & Development Toolkit.

Our Toolkit has been designed to offer a range of interactive, online modules, tools and resources to develop your knowledge and skills in palliative and end of life care. The toolkit offers flexible, self-paced learning that can be accessed when and where you need it. We have divided the content into 5 topic areas:

• Pain management in palliative and end of life care
• Other common palliative and end of life symptoms
• Communication in palliative and end of life care
• Palliative care emergencies
• Person-centred care at end of life

Who is the toolkit for?

The toolkit is aimed at health and social care professionals who regularly assess, manage and influence decision-making for people with life-limiting illness.

What level is the toolkit?

The toolkit is Enhanced Level. This means that it’s suitable for learners with existing knowledge and/or experience in palliative and end of life care who wish to develop their knowledge and skills further.

How do I navigate the toolkit?

Each topic contains a range of resources – including online modules, articles, videos and tools – to enhance your knowledge and skills. You can choose the topics and resources relevant to your role, interests and professional development and complete them in any order.

How do I access the toolkit?

The toolkit is hosted within the Palliative and End of Life Care Community in the Macmillan Learning Hub. If you are not already registered for the Learning Hub please click here to sign up for this free resource.

If you would like more information you can watch a short video that explains more about our learning hub and toolkit.

Click here to view more details on our upcoming online training sessions focussing on peer support for care home staff.

This webinar is open to all care home staff who would like an update on food first and project milkshake as part of the MUST Step 5. It will help refresh knowledge on key foods and fluids that can be used as first line management for residents with an identified nutrtional risk.

An online module to provide residential care home staff with the knowledge and skills to understand pressure ulcers – how they form, how they are treated and crucially, how they can be prevented.

Click here to access

Do you want to make lasting changes within your care home? Let us help you make those changes by giving you the tools and knowledge to carry out Quality Improvement (QI) projects. The Scottish Improvement Foundation Skills Programme (SIFS), developed in partnership with the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) covers the following topics:

• An introduction to the Model for Improvement

• How to understand and identify where changes can be made

• How to test and understand what difference your changes can make

The programme lasts 14 weeks and you will be asked to carry out a small project within your care home. You will take part in 3 in person learning days during the programme.

You will be assigned a Quality Improvement Advisor from the CHC team for support during the programme. If you are interested, please watch this space for information on how to join the 2025 cohorts.

To register please select from the cohorts below.

If you have any questions, or wish to be kept informed when we launch the call for the next cohort, contact us ggc.chccontact@ggc.scot.nhs.uk

RESTORE2 is a physical deterioration and escalation tool recommended in My Health, My Care, My Home Healthcare Framework for adults living in care homes by the Scottish Government.

The RESTORE2 leadership training will equip Care Home leaders with the necessary skills to effectively train colleagues and implement the tool with their care homes, contributing to a culture of proactive patient safety and improved care delivery. 

Participants will gain a thorough understanding of the RESTORE2 tool, including its purpose, components (soft signs, vital signs, NEWS2, SBARD), and how to apply it in practice. 

Click here to access RESTORE2 resources including videos, charts and the rollout handbook.

If you are a Care Home manager, Deputy or Clinical Lead and you are interested in empowering your staff to use RESTORE2 in your care home, please join us at one of our training events listed below to find out more.

RESTORE2 is a physical deterioration and escalation tool recommended in My Health, My Care, My Home Healthcare Framework for adults living in care homes by the Scottish Government.

The Care Home Collaborative can support the implementation of this tool in care homes across GGC.

Click here to access RESTORE2 resources including videos, charts and the rollout handbook.

If you are interested in using RESTORE2 in your care home, please join us at one of our training events listed below to find out more about RESTORE2 and how to implement it in your home.

RESTORE2 Mini can help your team to identify that a resident is deteriorating and to get help earlier, supporting the resident to remain at home.

RESTORE2 Mini is a shortened version of the full RESTORE2 tool and is ideal for introducing to residential homes (that are currently unable to take physical observations) to the concepts of soft signs and SBARD structured communication.

Learning Outcomes:

1. Learning about RESTORE2 Mini
2. Recognising ‘soft signs’
3. Knowing the person you care for
4. Structured communication and escalation

Click here to access RESTORE2Mini videos.

If you are interested in using RESTORE2Mini in your home, please join us at one of our training events listed below .

Care Home Collaborative

The Care Home Collaborative are providing full day training sessions focusing on the SSKINS Bundle on the prevention and management of pressure ulcers. With the input of a multi-agency team the session will consist of an in depth look at each element of SSKINS.

This training is aimed at nursing staff, carers, activity co-ordinators and managers working in care homes.

After the training the participants will receive a certificate of attendance that will count for 6 hours CPD.

At the end of the session participants should be able to:

1. Explain what SSKINS is
2. Identify residents that would be at risk of pressure ulcers
3. Carry out a thorough skin inspection
4. Recognise and grade the different grades of pressure ulcer
5. Understand the importance of pressure relieving equipment and how to care for it
6. Understand what we can do to keep our residents moving to prevent pressure ulcers developing or deteriorating
7. Ensure moisture and continence is managed appropriately to avoid/reduce risk of pressure ulcers
8. Recognise the importance of nutrition and hydration in pressure ulcer prevention

Please book online using the buttons below. Availability of places is dictated by the size of each venue.

Join us for a 4.5hr workshop that explains why walking, plus strength and balance provide the key to active older age. You will spend time learning how to encourage mobility and activity and build strength and balance into daily care. This course is delivered by qualified trainers with extensive experience in health and social care. Click here for more details.

A two-hour interactive learning opportunity for all care home staff to better understand how to help residents experiencing distress in dementia.

Macmillan

Macmillan’s Social care community

The Social care community on Macmillan’s Learning Hub offers free training and education for staff working in adult social care. Develop your knowledge and skills in supporting people affected by cancer by learning about topics including:

• cancer awareness,
• communication skills,
• person-centred care,
• cancer and other conditions
• palliative and end of life care.

There is a wide range of resources in the community for you to explore, including interactive e-learning, virtual classrooms, articles and videos.

Who is it for?

This community is for staff working in adult social care who want to improve their understanding of cancer and skills in supporting people affected by cancer.

What level is it?

The community contains training and education at both Essential and Enhanced level.

How do I navigate the Community?

The training and education is organised into 5 topic areas. Each topic contains a range of resources (including e-learning modules, articles and videos) to enhance your knowledge and skills. You can choose the topics and resources relevant to your role, interests and professional development and complete them in any order.

How do I access the Community?

If you are not already registered on Macmillan’s Learning Hub, please click here to sign up for free

Once logged in, you can access the Social care community here

Glasgow City – HSCP Speech and Language Therapy (SLT) service are launching Swallowing Matters with a programme commencing in September 2025. Swallowing Matters is a comprehensive resource for care home staff to help support residents with eating, drinking and swallowing difficulties. This proven tool has been successfully utilised across several health boards in Scotland. Benefits of the programme are:

• Support for care home staff to independently and effectively manage aspects of individual resident care in relation to eating, drinking and swallowing following evidence based and standardised guidance
• Easy to follow pathways as well as guidance and resources to ensure records meet Care Inspectorate standards
• Helps care home staff identify when to refer directly to specialist speech and language therapists

The initial roll out will be provided by Glasgow City HSCP SLT Service, Care Home & Hospice Team, via in-person sessions in September 2025. Care Home managers are being encouraged to participate in the roll out of the programme and to facilitate staff attendance and implementation.

Initial training will be open to senior carers, nurses and clinical leads working in non-NHS residential, nursing and hospice facilities across Glasgow City, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire (Clydebank) areas only.

Turas Learn is a website for Health and Social Care staff that hosts a wide range of learning materials including eLearning modules and courses.

There are a wide range of educational resources which provide guidance and support to enhance your ongoing professional development.

You must be logged into your Turas Account to view and access eLearning modules Sign In

If you do not have a Turas account you can create one

Watch the short video to find out how to:

• Register for Turas Learn
• Sign in to find learning resources
• Find your Learning Record

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The Wound Care Study Day has been developed in response to care home colleagues’ requests for wound care information and updates. We worked in partnership with colleagues from each HSCP to develop a comprehensive wound care study day.

The training is suitable for registered nurses and care staff who have an existing competency in wound management within their role in the care home. It also counts towards Continuous Professional Develop (CPD).

The study day offers a full day combining presentations with hands on interactive sessions on the topics listed:

• Composition of the skin and its functions
• Introduction to wound assessment and definition of a wound
• Wound assessments – Practical session
• Wound management
• Healing and antimicrobial stewardship
• Treatment of wounds and case studies

Learning outcomes:

• Describe composition of the skin and its functions
• Define and assess a wound
• Carry out wound assessment
• Describe stages of wound healing and principles of antimicrobial stewardship

The training does not deem someone competent but provides an update and refresher on wound care and current formulary products.

Please book your place by clicking the link below.

Prehabilitation is defined as pre-treatment rehabilitation and aims to help individuals get as fit and ready for their treatment as possible including:

• supported self-management
• improved physical function through smoking cessation, exercise, nutritional support and weight management,
• optimised social connectedness and psychological wellbeing to improve recovery and
• removal of socio-economic concerns through improved access to entitlements, money advice and removal of barriers to adoption of health behaviours.

Information for the public and professionals: Prehabilitation for Scotland – This website provides a range of information for both the public and professionals. Although this website talks mainly about cancer, much of this information is relevant to other conditions.

Pre-Operative Assessment – Information and resources on getting ready for surgery, FAQ’s information videos and information on different sites.

Realistic Medicine is about supporting people using healthcare services, and their families, to feel empowered to discuss their treatment. Realistic Medicine also promotes shared decision making and a personalised approach to care which are also values central to Prehab.

Holistic needs assessment (HNA) and care planning was first introduced by the National Cancer Survivorship Programme to help identify the concerns and needs of people living with cancer. The holistic needs assessment and care planning tool provides a useful framework for the basis of a person-centred discussion based on what matters to the person at that time.  Used with appropriate training, information and knowledge of available supports to meet needs, the tool facilitates the following:

• Identification of need / impact of wider determinants;
• Self management, self-care;
• Person-led care or goal-setting, health and wellbeing improvement;
• Social-prescribing, mitigating impact of poverty and life circumstances;
• Applied health improvement, developing the wider health improvement workforce, embedding health improvement in clinical care.

In recognition that many of the issues faced by people living with cancer are similar to those for people living with other life changing and/or deteriorating conditions, the Acute Health Improvement Team identified areas where this approach could be tested:

• Parent/Carers within Royal Hospital for Children
• People undergoing lower limb amputation at QEUH
• People attending Physical Disability Rehabilitation Unit at QEUH campus
• People attending for renal dialysis at IRH. 

The concerns in the cancer focused tool required review with clinical colleagues to tailor concerns to meet the needs of each of the different groups.  A monitoring and evaluation framework for the work was developed to ensure outcomes were captured. 

National Cancer Survivorship Initiative. Living with and beyond cancer: taking action to improve outcomes,

Department of Health,  2013   

In April 2017 tests of change were developed in adult acute services to determine how the HNA and care planning model works in adult hospital settings beyond cancer services.  As a result, three locations were chosen, reflecting patients who were experienced permanent changes to their lives as a result of health conditions or traumatic events:

• Renal Dialysis Unit, Inverclyde Royal Hospital,
• Physically Disabled Rehabilitation Unit (PDRU), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow
• Ward 11A (lower limb amputees), Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow

Each location chosen was allocated a member of the health improvement team to liaise with them to facilitate the process in their location. This was in recognition of the fact that the implementation process was likely to be different in each location, reflecting the differing patient groups, nature of clinical interactions, and experience of conducting health behaviour change discussions in each clinical area.

The delivery model for implementing the Supporting People in Hospital approach varied amongst the three locations as follows:

• Nurse led – Renal Dialysis Unit
• Key worker led (both AHP’s and Nursing staff) – PDRU
• Health Improvement Led from Support & Information Service – Ward 11A (and Ward 11D). 

The HNA has been rolled out to further to Renal services at the QEUH with other areas planned. Over time, the completion of the tools has been incorporated into routine practice within these areas.

Below is a video clip of Katharine Montgomery, Staff Nurse, Renal Unit IRH talking about how the HNA has been implemented in their area.

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 An initial evaluation on the HNA was completed in July 2017 and a learning event took place October 2017 where findings were disseminated. The evaluation found that:

The patients welcomed this approach:

• “It’s about helping me if I have anything that is worrying me”  
• “It gives me the chance to tell someone if I need help with things at home”.
• “It gave me the chance to talk to my family about how I felt and for them to tell me how they felt too”.

The staff welcomed this approach:

• “Our patients go out of here different to when they come in.  They usually come in mobile and leave in a wheelchair.  It’s a huge psychological as well as physical change and it affects every part of their lives.  Nothing is the same for them anymore and this is a great opportunity for them to talk to someone about more than just their medical condition”
• “Coming in here is a massive part of their weekly lives and they are exhausted.  We talk to them about how they feel physically but they have many other issues – particularly money, so this is a really good way of helping them deal with things which are affecting them and their families”

Macmillan Prehabilitation project

The West of Scotland Cancer Network (WoSCAN) was awarded funding from Macmillan Cancer Support to recruit Prehab Advocate posts in 4 heath boards to deliver a 14 month prehabilitation project. The health boards are NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde (NHSGC), NHS Ayrshire & Arran, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Forth Valley.

In NHSGGC, 2 Prehab Advocates (Health Improvement Seniors) have been recruited and started in June 2024. The Prehab Advocates have started mapping current Prehabilitation provision in cancer services across NHSGGC. They will also coordinate and deliver improvement projects to support wider implementation of Prehabilitation approaches including:

• Clinical pathways: Working across local health systems to use existing screening tools for prehab referrals, and making links with services already in place delivering prehab.
• Education and engagement: To support clinical teams to understand the benefits of prehab and raise awareness of existing prehab services, supported by the WoSCAN regional prehab education programme
• Sharing good practice: Utilising and learning from the models of prehab practice in place within other constituent health boards, with an ambition to copy and embed similar projects in each Board, and increase available prehab offers for patients.

To find out more about this work please contact: Jane Grant, Health Improvement Lead, email: Jane.Grant6@nhs.scot