In the past, many people with complex clinical needs would have received much of their care in hospital. Today, with increased pressure on hospital services and a stronger focus on person-centred care, many people are supported safely within community and care settings.
This means care staff, support workers, healthcare assistants, nurses, personal assistants, family carers, and wider support teams often need specialist complex care training. They must feel confident, competent, and safe when supporting people with clinical care needs.
Our Complex Care Training Course can be tailored to the person, the care setting and the clinical skills required. We provide flexible training and competency assessment packages for individual employers, case managers, home care providers, residential services, nursing homes, schools, supported living services, and other care organisations.
Complex care involves supporting people who have significant health, physical, neurological, respiratory, nutritional or personal care needs. These needs may be present from birth, develop over time, or occur following illness, injury, surgery or trauma.
People receiving complex care may require support with one or more specialist areas, including:
Because these needs can be highly individual, staff must understand more than the task itself. They need to know why the care is required, how to carry it out safely, what risks to look for, when to stop, when to escalate concerns, and how to document care clearly.
Poorly delivered complex care can place a person at serious risk. High-quality training, followed by supervised practice and workplace competency assessment, helps ensure care is safe, consistent and person-centred.
Our complex care training is designed to give care teams the knowledge, practical skills and confidence needed to support people safely.
We do not believe complex care training should be a generic “one size fits all” course. Every person is different, and every care setting has different responsibilities, equipment, policies and escalation procedures.
That is why our training can be tailored around:
For example, if a team already has good knowledge of PEG feeding but needs more support with suctioning, assisted cough, safer eating and drinking or autonomic dysreflexia, the course can be adjusted to focus on the areas most relevant to them.
Training is delivered by experienced healthcare professionals and specialist trainers who understand the realities of delivering care in community, residential and care settings.
Our complex care training package can include one or more of the following modules, depending on the needs of the person and service.
This module supports staff to understand when assisted cough may be required and how it can be used safely as part of a person’s respiratory care plan.
Learning areas include:
This module is suitable for teams supporting individuals who use non-invasive ventilation in a community or care setting.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff who care for individuals with a tracheostomy.
Learning areas include:
This module is designed for staff who may need to support people with oral, nasal or tracheostomy suctioning.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to understand the impact of acquired brain injury and spinal cord injury on the person’s health, independence, communication, behaviour and daily life.
Learning areas include:
This module is important for staff supporting people with spinal cord injuries who may be at risk of autonomic dysreflexia.
Learning areas include:
This module focuses on safe moving and handling for individuals with acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury or complex physical disabilities.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to prevent, recognise and respond to pressure damage.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff who assist individuals with bowel care following spinal cord injury.
Learning areas include:
This module is suitable for staff supporting individuals with urinary catheters, including people with spinal cord injury, acquired brain injury or other complex care needs.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to understand swallowing difficulties and how to reduce the risk of choking, aspiration, malnutrition, dehydration and avoidable distress during meals and drinks.
It is suitable for staff supporting adults or children who have dysphagia, neurological conditions, learning disabilities, dementia, physical disabilities, acquired brain injury, spinal cord injury, respiratory conditions or other complex care needs that affect eating and drinking.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to understand and follow IDDSI guidance where a person requires modified food or thickened fluids.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to recognise choking and respond in line with their training, local policy and the person’s care plan.
Learning areas include:
This module is suitable for staff supporting individuals who receive nutrition, fluids or medication through a feeding tube.
Learning areas include:
This module supports staff to promote safe, dignified and person-centred nutrition and hydration.
Learning areas include:
Complex care training should not end with classroom learning alone. Staff need to be assessed in practice to ensure they can apply knowledge safely and competently.
We provide competency assessment documentation to support safe, evidence-based clinical practice after training. This allows the registered provider, employer or care organisation to complete workplace competency assessments using a nominated mentor, supervisor or competent assessor.
Where required, we can also provide a registered nurse trainer to complete onsite competency assessments. This can be helpful for providers who need additional clinical oversight or who do not yet have a suitable internal assessor.
Competency assessment can include:
Certificates can be issued following completion of training, with competency assessment completed separately where required.
Our Complex Care Training Course is suitable for care teams and support networks working with adults or children who have complex health needs.
This may include:
We work with a wide range of organisations and commissioners, including:
Every complex care package is different. We can help you build a training programme around the person, the care team and the setting.
Whether you need a single clinical module, a full complex care training package, practical skills training, competency documentation, or onsite competency assessment, we can tailor the course to meet your needs.
To discuss your complex care training requirements, please get in touch with our team.
Our Care Home Assistant Practitioner (CHAPs) Training equips care staff with the clinical knowledge, practical skills, and competency-based support needed to safely undertake enhanced responsibilities and optimise workforce capacity within care home settings.
Our catheter training course has been designed for registered nurses required to carry out urethral catheterisation of patients within their care. Throughout the duration of the catheterisation course, delegates will receive both theoretical and practical training using anatomically correct mannequins.
Our course is designed to ensure that health care and support workers have the knowledge, understanding and clinical skill to confidently, safely and competently perform Tracheostomy Care to patients and service users.
Our venepuncture/phlebotomy course encompasses a wide range of topics related to the taking of blood including the process itself, post-venepuncture/phlebotomy care, potential issues and more.
