Care leader, Belong Atherton has been awarded the Chief Nurse for Social Care Team Award for its outstanding contribution to social care, namely in its support of the development of students entering the profession.
The Department of Health & Social Care (DHSC) accolade recognises the dementia specialist’s eight-strong nursing team in its collaboration with Greater Manchester universities, playing a key role in researching student allied health professionals’ (AHPs) training within multidisciplinary care home environments.
Led by The University of Salford, ‘Not the last resort: The longitudinal impact of interprofessional student training care home initiative’ saw undergraduates including those in nursing, physiotherapy, psychotherapy and social work immerse themselves in hands-on training at the Mealhouse Lane care village for the project.
Belong’s award-winning holistic approach to care was selected to facilitate the pilot version of the scheme, with a goal to explore alternatives for training health and social care professionals.
At present, students typically learn in isolation within their respective discipline. However, upon qualifying, it is common for them to go on to work as part of interprofessional teams.
Across all Belong villages, older people are supported through an ethos of viewing the ‘whole person’ and their needs, rather than focusing on a single aspect of care, one at a time. Through collaboration of in-house nurses, support workers, and exercise and rehabilitation specialists, expertise is pooled for the benefit of customers, including those living with dementia.
The students were able to combine this ethos with learnings from their studies, as well as have the chance to share the latest evidence-based nursing practice with colleagues and make their own recommendations.
In turn, Belong Atherton residents felt the scheme impacted positively on their physical and emotional wellbeing, citing the benefits of having a diverse range of professionals to meet their needs in their home; an improved feeling of social connectedness; and a sense of purpose through helping the students in their learning.
Jemma Sharratt, support manager and nurse at Belong Atherton, commented: “We are pleased to have mentored the students by taking their classroom learning and applying it to real-life experience. They embraced the opportunity and thrived whilst working here and equally, we learned a great deal from our newest colleagues to the profession.”
Last year, the project made the finalist shortlist at the Nursing Times Awards for the Social Care Nursing Accolade.
Belong Atherton general manager and nurse, Nicola Johnstone, added: “With the political conversation around social care in the limelight, we are pleased to promote the fantastic opportunities to build careers in care environments for those working in various disciplines across health and social care.”
More information about Belong can be found at www.belong.org.uk or by emailing enquiries@belong.org.uk
