Alium Care Training shares their experience using Skills for Care’s LGBTQ+ learning framework

This #GoodNewsFriday and in recognition of Pride month, Alium Care Training share their experience of using the LGBTQ+ learning framework and give insight into how they’re using it to support care providers and people drawing on care and support.

Skills for Care’s recently published learning framework, developed in collaboration with the University of Strathclyde and the Pride in Ageing programme at LGBT Foundation, aims to support social care workers in providing sensitive and informed care to older lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, queer (LGBTQ+) individuals. By addressing the unique challenges faced by this community, the framework equips care workers with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to ensure that older LGBTQ+ people receive the respect and understanding they deserve.

Steve Roberts, Independent Trainer at Alium Care Training, shared his experience using the framework to support care providers in becoming more LGBTQ+ friendly in their care delivery.

Alium has identified several key motivators for prioritising LGBTQ+ training, which it believes will be the main selling points for getting care providers engaged with the framework, such as avoiding adverse findings in CQC inspections, mitigating discrimination claims and positioning services as LGBTQ+ affirmative to meet personalised needs.

Alium’s strategy to promote the framework includes focusing on making the initial step of engaging with the framework straightforward for care homes and emphasising the importance of relationships as the cornerstone of quality of life. Their training explores the big changes a person faces when moving into a care home, addressing crucial areas such as living arrangements, daily routines and the loss of choice and control.

Alium supports care providers in identifying, mapping and planning to maintain relationships when an individual transitions into a care home. This approach helps build trust and gradually explores the nature of these relationships, leading to meaningful discussions about touch, intimacy, sex, sexuality and gender identity.

The training and consultancy services offered by Alium include understanding the learning framework to promote LGBTQ+ affirmative care, ensuring that policies and procedures reflect the framework, supporting cultural change to embrace the framework, and revising recruitment practices and support planning.

Steve and Alium have found the learning framework to be instrumental in supporting care providers to become centres of excellence in meeting the needs of LGBTQ+ individuals.

Steve Roberts, Independent Trainer at Alium Care Training, said:

Find out more about the LGBTQ+ Learning Framework.

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