Care Home Support Team (CHST)

We work with care home staff to build their skills, knowledge, and confidence in the vital work they do to improve the wellbeing of care residents.

How we work with your teams

Our focus is on prevention and early intervention.

Providing staff with the right skills training and advice to support to residents can make a big difference to their quality of life, and help manage health challenges to avoid unnecessary hospital admissions.

Support is provided by our specialist teams of nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists, pharmacists, and multitherapy assistants.

We work in partnership with you and your staff to offer the right guidance and training to suit your needs.

Care homes can contact our team on an ongoing basis, as and when issues arise.

How we work with other teams

We work closely with other services to ensure a joined-up approach of care:

Urgent Community Response (UCR) team to support care homes - visit the UCR Service page (opens new browser tab)
Complex medication reviews following a referral from CHST/UCR members or GP practice staff to optimise medication and reduce risks of polypharmacy
Regular communications with Care Homes and Royal Berkshire Hospital (RBH) Discharge team and other acute hospitals
Signposting to other services, depending on the needs of the person and your team
Specialist support for complex case management including Clinical Review Meetings (CRMs) / multidisciplinary meetings (MDT’s)

Training

We seek to improve the health, wellbeing, and independence of care home residents by working closely with your care home staff to build their knowledge, skills, and confidence.

We offer training around key areas such as:

Catheter management
Dementia awareness e.g., psychological symptoms, behaviours, challenges
Depression/apathy
Deprivation of liberty safeguards
Diabetes
End of life nurse care (palliative)
Equipment advice for individual residents and the home
Falls prevention and management
Management of chronic conditions Parkinson’s, MS, spasticity
Mental capacity act
Ongoing support of care home staff, falls, dementia and dysphagia champions
Oral mouth care, including swallowing problems (dysphagia)
Psychosis
Reducing the risk of pressure sores and contractures
Sexual disinhibition
Using social interactions to improve wellbeing and independence
Wound and pressure area management

Our West Berkshire team also offers Postural Management Service

Read our Postural Management Leaflet (pdf)

Read our Finding the right seating options leaflet (pdf)

We can also provide targeted and bespoke support to residents and staff with more complex needs, over a longer ongoing period.

Development and ongoing support of care home staff champions around key areas like pressure damage, dementia, falls
Support care home staff to make appropriate referrals to other service
Mental health assessments with a focus on psycho-social interventions
Encouraging person-centred approaches through MDT (Multidisciplinary Team) support
Liaise with local hospitals, identifying residents admitted from care homes and provide support to facilitate timely discharge