Springbank, a care home in Silsden, has launched a groundbreaking new training initiative as part of the Spellman Care Wellbeing & Development Hub.

The Wellbeing and Development Hub was launched in January as part of a wider wellbeing project, to provide staff with a platform to access a variety of resources covering mental wellbeing, physical wellbeing, staff discounts, administration and personal development.

Springbank’s initiative contributes to the personal development section of the hub, introducing an interactive training video and supporting booklet titled ‘Dementia: Beyond The Diagnosis’.

Lisa Pickles, Home Manager at Springbank said “Training has always been a key part of our staff development. Utilizing the Wellbeing and Development Hub to share interactive videos such as ‘Dementia: Beyond The Diagnosis’ helps us take training to the next level, providing staff with an interactive training session, tailored specifically to the residents they support.’

The training video was filmed at the home, and features a variety of Springbank team members, with hypothetical situations based on real life resident experiences.

April Howie, Deputy Manager added “We chose to develop our own in-house training video, delivered by our own staff members, to help improve engagement and learning.

The training re-created real life scenarios which our teams encounter every day, challenged our own perspectives and helped staff to see from the resident’s point of view.

The training began from the moment action was called, with a studio set up within the Home allowing staff to be fully involved with the videos development. The filming even extended out into our landscaped dementia garden!”

The training was launched on the Home’s monthly Wellbeing Wednesday event this week, and will be available on the Wellbeing and Development Hub for the foreseeable future.

Jenny Newiss, a colleague who featured in the video also added “It was a great opportunity to get involved in filming our own dementia training in the Home. I was able to reflect on my own experiences and help bring these to life, showcasing our person-centred approach to supporting those living with dementia. The better we know our residents, the better we can support them by recognising and responding to their behaviours.”