Skills for Care says better training will help improve use of anti-psychotic drugs

Skills for Care says a review into the use of anti-psychotic drugs is right to highlight the need for specific training of social care workers which the workforce development agency is already working hard to deliver.

Dementia specific qualifications for adult social care workers is a key recommendation of the Government review, led by Professor Sube Banerjee, and Skills for Care are leading the drive to create new qualifications designed to help workers think about the issues involved in dementia care, including the use of antipsychotic drugs.

The new dementia specific qualifications will be offered within the new Qualifications and Credit Framework (QCF), which replaces the existing NVQ structure from 2010.

As part of their specific training to work with people with dementia workers will be able to access consistent standards and qualifications on the use of drugs.

But before the new dementia specific qualifications come on stream staff who work with people with dementia can access specialist dementia and medication knowledge sets created by Skills for Care to support their day-to-day work.

“This report is timely in that it highlights concerns about how anti-psychotic drugs are used across the sector and we believe that specific training is urgently needed to support staff who work with people with dementia,” says Skills for Care CEO Andrea Rowe.

“We have put a huge amount of work into creating the new dementia specific qualifications within the QCF so care staff will have the skills to tackle the key issues in caring for someone with dementia and the safe and appropriate use of anti-psychotic drugs in their workplaces.”