Carer skills program for older people

Carers NSW has created new education resources to develop practical skills and knowledge, specifically for carers of older people.

The skills based training program has an emphasis on practical caring skills to improve the safety and sustainability of caring for an older person at home.

Every caring situation is unique so the six training modules can be viewed and delivered as a series or individually, depending on carer needs.

You can view the training modules in the links below.

Video introduction

Click on the video below to watch a 25 minute overview of the carer skills resources.

Training modules

Introduction

The introduction has an index, glossary and acknowledgement of the valuable contributions from many carers and industry professionals.

1. Positive approaches to caring

Topics include wellness and reablement, supported decision-making, communication techniques, mental health concerns and behaviour changes.

2. General knowledge

Topics include My Aged Care, Carer Gateway, knowing your rights, complaints, planning ahead, legal documents, advance care planning, financial payments and supplements.

3. Taking care of you

Topics include self-care, mental health, healthy eating, staying active, respite care, support strategies and where to get help.

4. Making day to day activities easier

Topics include handwashing, personal protective equipment (PPE), safety, showering and dressing, skin care, continence care, eating and drinking, and transport.

5. Building confidence when moving others

Topics include risk assessment, body position, common transfers, instructional videos, where and when to seek professional help.

6. Confidence with health care tasks

Topics include emergencies, falls prevention, emergency care plans, medication safety, planning ahead, palliative and end of life care, transition from caring and life after caring.

Keep an eye on our upcoming training and events calendar for upcoming workshops.

A limited number of printed booklets are available on request.

The project, which started in December 2019 has been delivered with funding from the Australian Government under the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) Innovations Grant.

Manual handling skills video series

If you assist someone who has trouble standing or walking, you may benefit from our new video series Manual handling skills for carers.

Carers NSW has a number of instructional videos with a carer demonstrating common tasks. The videos are designed for people with good upper body strength who can hold their own weight when standing. We recommend you talk to your doctor, an occupational therapist or a physiotherapist if the person you support has more complex needs.

You can view the short video demonstrations in the links below:

View Manual Handling - Instructing someone on how to stand up independently via YouTube