Evaluation of the Care Assistant Development Programme: Learning from early implementation - SCIE evaluation report for HC-One

Part of Care providers – improvement support

An independent evaluation of a Care Assistant Development Programme (CADP), a programme designed to develop senior carers into nursing assistants in HC-One care homes. The programme consists of blended face-to-face and e-learning, ongoing assessment, and mentoring support from a qualified nurse. The evaluation aimed to examine the impact of the CADP on the quality of care, inform the future development of CADP and validate the Programme against national good practice markets for the delivery of good care. It draws on interviews with key stakeholders, surveys with nursing assistants, residents and relatives, and case studies of individuals involved in the programme. The findings focus on recruitment to the programme; how it was communicated; training and development; implementing the nursing assistant role; and emerging impacts of the programme. The evaluation found evidence of early successes. These include high retention rates, with the programme recording a 97 per cent completion rate. Nursing assistants also felt the programme prepared them well for their new roles, with 89 per cent of those surveyed saying they felt supported by their nurse mentor. Residents reported their experience of care from nursing assistants was positive. Staff also felt residents experienced better care due to reduced agency use, more person centred care and more timely and responsive care due to increased capacity across the home. The report makes recommendations for the future development of the programme.