Lack of specific training in care of older people creates skills gap
In both hospital and community care of older people, coverage varies between providers in terms of both pre-registration education and CPD. There is danger of a lack of expertise in caring for older people.
At the moment, there is no specific registration in nursing for caring for older people. There is currently a variance in coverage between providers, both in terms of pre-registration training that is provided and of continued professional development. This lack of specific training for older people is the case in both hospital and community care, which require different skill sets despite sharing many common elements of training. As a result, there is danger of a lack of expertise in caring for older people. Given the time lags involved in training, even if policymakers decided to improve the provision of training for caring for older people, it will require at least ten years for these changes to take full effect in nursing. Policymakers will therefore be aware of the need to provide specific training in caring for older people, given the variation of training that currently exists in this area.
Sources or references
- Suggested by number of stakeholders in interview and in workshops during CfWI research on nursing. From unpublished CfWI report (report available on request).
- Audit Commission, 2012, Delivering sustainable cost improvement programmes
- Nuffield Trust, 2012, NHS and Social care funding: the outlook to 2021/22
Some of the information in this section is provided by stakeholders and expert groups, and does not necessarily represent the views of the CfWI.
