Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Email: monica. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4. Homecare workers carry out complex work with people living with dementia, while under-supported, undervalued and undertrained. In this ethnographic study, we explore the skills, training and support needs of homecare workers supporting people living with dementia. We triangulated interview and observational findings and analysed data thematically.
It is important that training and support for homecare workers addresses the relational, emotional and rights-based aspects of the role. Where a flexible, responsive, person-centred service is required, corresponding training and support is needed, alongside organisational practices, taking account of the broader context of the homecare sector. Keywords: dementia care, dementia training, domiciliary care, qualitative research methods, ethnography.
There are , people living with dementia in the United Kingdom Wittenberg et al. Over , paid care workers in England provide direct care to people in their own homes Skills for Care, Two-thirds of these workers, termed homecare workers, direct care workers or domiciliary support workers regularly care for people living with dementia Carter, The homecare sector is in increasingly high demand and will grow substantially as society ages and care shifts further to domiciliary settings, where most people with dementia prefer to remain living.
They form the largest proportion of paid staff in the home setting, delivering personal care, assistance with domestic activities, basic nursing care and companionship. Homecare workers receive limited to no supervision or training, the quality of their work is often publicly scrutinised and their value to clients living with dementia and their family members may be unrecognised.
Mandatory training was introduced as the Care Certificate in England, in Social care staff are expected to complete the Care Certificate during their induction Skills for Care, ; however, it has not been taken up universally Skills for Care, This may be related to the fact that it is not an accredited national qualification and employers are not obliged to offer it to staff.
