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The Hub : Resources

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resourcesOn this page you can find useful resources on various key topics for the care sector.

Please click on the title to show the details and links.

Resources : Useful

Here you will find links to national and local sites supporting the social care sector.

 

Resources : Workforce

The health and well-being hub is a resource for colleagues working in health and care across Kent and Medway, providing a wealth of advice and support in one place.

For the first time, Kent and Medway Well-being Hub brings together access to resources for staff working in different sectors. Created collaboratively with health and care colleagues across Kent and Medway, the hub focuses on proactive wellness,while making sure our people have access to support when they need it.

Designed to complement existing intranets and the Talking Wellness mental health hub, the new hub is broken down into sections, making it easy to navigate. Topics covered include financial well-being, work/life balance, mental health, staying physically well and how colleagues can support each other.

Resources:

Have you thought about growing your workforce via placement opportunities?

You can view a recording of this session which highlights the benefits of placements, support available and the viewpoint from a manger perspective and a student.

Resources:

Watch the recording of the webinar.

Having difficult conversations with staff is a key part of a registered managers role. This webinar, facilitated by ACAS, will offer registered managers the guidance on preparing for, and conducting these conversations in a positive and supportive manner.

Resources:

Watch the video on having difficult conversations.

The Department for Business Energy and Industrial Strategy have updated their guidance on calculating the minimum wage.

This guidance includes an updated section on sleep-in shifts under the “special situations”.

Resources:

Read the guidance on Gov.uk

Skills for Care deputy manager networks will be a supportive opportunity for deputies to meet the challenges they face in their day-to-day work. The network and discussions will be relevant to deputies across different setting and service types.


We are looking for people who aspire to develop their managerial role and have a passion for making a difference at work. They will gain support to develop their confidence, giving them the experience to start taking on greater responsibility at work in their deputy role.

Each network meeting will be virtual and facilitated by a Skills for Care Locality Manager. It will focus on themes including well-being and resilience, self-confidence and personal effectiveness, delegation with confidence and dignity, communicating inside and out and making sense of information.

Resources:

People from ethnic minority communities account for one in five of the adult social care workforce in England and play a vital role in the day-to-day care of people in our communities.

Skills for Care have created resources for supporting social care's diverse workforce.

Resources:

These webinars are delivered to a live audience and recorded for further viewing which you can watch below. They are 30-minutes long and some of the webinars are also supported with bite size resources. Link to the Skills for Care webinar page here

The webinars cover the following seven categories;

  • Training
  • Well-being
  • HR
  • Technology
  • Recruitment
  • End of life
  • Leading your service

Resources:

View all the recordings on the Skills for Care website.

Leadership skills are important in any role but sometimes these skills might be over-looked for front line workers.

Skills for Care have created a series of short films for managers to use with their teams, to help support the development of leadership skills of front line workers and raise awareness of the importance of these skills. Leadership starts with me resource.

Resources:

Leadership skills on the Skills for Care website.

Resources : Nurses

Nurses working in social care can feel isolated and do not always know where to find access to clinical development opportunities, which is why this local forum is useful for nurses working in the care sector.

Next meeting will be announced soon and if you would like to attend please contact either: penny.lawlor@kent.gov.uk or
pia.rathje-burton@skillsforcare.org.uk

Resources:

Resources : Quality

A presentation by Sharon Lee, Senior Primary Care Workforce Programme Lead on Audits, which was presented at the nurse support network in November 2023.

Resources

The Kent and Medway Integrated Care Medicines Optimisation Team have highlighted the following useful documents for medication guidance:

The Department of Health and Social Care has adapted the 'Every Action Counts' suite of resources to support adult social care providers achieve excellence in infection prevention and control.

The resources include posters, digital key cards and hints and tips, supporting compliance and awareness, leadership, morale and well-being, training and operational interventions.

Resources:

Hospice in the Weald has provided free access to various guides to help those supporting with end of life care.

Guides available cover - Meeting the Practical Needs of Your Loved One and Looking after Yourself.

Resources:

Building the resilience of your staff will help them cope better under pressure and protect them from mental and physical ill health.

The Greater Resilience Better Care tool helps managers look at the stress levels and well-being of their staff, and gives practical ideas about how they can improve things.

Resources:

Skills for Care have created a self-assessment tool to help you assess the current activity provision within your organisation and identify areas where improvements can or should be made. By answering the questions you’ll be able to evaluate what you’re doing now and formulate an action plan.

The tool also highlights which Key Line(s) of Enquiry each question relates to.

Resources:

See the Good and Outstanding section of Skills for Care website if you are an adult social care provider regulated by the Care Quality Commission. The tools are designed to support you to strengthen the quality of your service.

The resources can help you to plan for a CQC inspection, respond to internal audits and deliver good/ outstanding care.

It also gives you easy access to products and services from Skills for Care, Social Care Institute for Excellence and the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence.

Resources:

Below are useful guides to help managers and other workers to prepare for Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspections.

Resources:

Best Practice Guidance (BPG) for Care Homes

Integrated Care Team has developed several Medicines Management Best Practice Guidance (BPG) for use within care homes across Kent and Medway. The Best practice guidance aims to support care home staff to deliver safe and effective medicines management to residents within care homes.

If you require any help or support or have any questions, please email the following address: KMCCG.ICMOPharmacyteam@nhs.net

Links for Best Practice Guidance (BPG)  

East Kent:  Care home resources (eastkentformulary.nhs.UK)

DGS: https://www.dgsdvhformulary.nhs.uk/kent-and-medway-guidance/miscellaneous/care-homes-best-practice-guidance/

DGS: available on DORIS too

MS: Care Home Best Practice Guidance (medwayswaleformulary.co.uk)

Medway council: https://www.careportal.medway.gov.uk/Article/111170

West Kent: Care Home Best Practice Guidance (formularywkccgmtw.co.uk)

We have available Deafblindness and Dual Sensory Loss Managers Guidance and Deafblindness and Dual Sensory Loss Care Staff Guidance which you may find useful.

If you wish to receive copies of these packs please request them by emailing: KentRegisteredManager@kent.gov.uk.

 

The Adult Speech & Language Therapy Team at 
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust have launched a free new resource for care homes to use to support residents with their eating, drinking and swallowing called the Kent Manual for Mealtimes (KM4M). It contains detailed practical advice which is evidence-based and aligns with the CQC Single Assessment Framework for safe, effective and well-led care.

It is aimed at older people’s care homes, both nursing and residential. It is launching initially in east and west Kent as well as Medway and Swale. (We hope in future that it will also be rolled out in north Kent.)

It gives clear instructions on when a person needs to be referred for SLT or dietetic assessment but also when low risk problems can be managed by care staff using the KM4M.

It includes an easy to complete problem chart which links with colour coded sections giving lots of advice around different areas of difficulty. There is a record sheet to document the changes that you put in place and whether they have helped.

Their web page has a video presentation to show you how to use the KM4M as well as all of the documents that you will need.

Click here to access the Kent Manual for Mealtimes and start using it in your care home today: Kent Manual for Mealtimes | Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust

They have piloted the KM4M at a selection of care homes across Kent and this is what the staff from these pilot sites have told us after using it:

  • I would highly recommend to all staff to give it a try.
  • It is easy to use
  • The manual gives guidance on different factors to consider when residents have swallowing difficulty and points to try out/to check which is really good. It tells you when to refer to SLT
  • Having easy access to support without having to refer is amazing.
  • It is super handy having something available for that time you feel most useless when you are waiting for your contact from the SLT or Dietician teams. This gives staff something to work on and to trial rather than twiddling their thumbs.
  • It gives staff the confidence to assess and intervene prior to any direct input from external professionals. We know that KM4M can be used and would be accepted by any external organisations, particularly CQC.

The Adult Speech & Language Therapy Team at
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust can support you to start using KM4M in your care home. If you have any queries or would like to discuss the KM4M further, please contact your local SALT or community dietetic team.

If you would like to access the presentations from the Safeguarding Adults Provider Network meetings please email: KentRegisteredManager@kent.gov.uk.

 

Last updated: 20/11/2025