This free online homecare training course explains how to safely support the infirm with their daily household tasks.

Anyone at any stage of life - including those with learning disabilities, mental health issues, sensory impairment or physical disabilities - could require domiciliary care. Are you passionate about providing care for people in their homes? As a domiciliary care worker, you are responsible for supporting individuals and assisting them with their daily household chores, personal care and any other activity that allows them to maintain their independence and quality of life. In this course, we train you in homecare and examine the domiciliary care minimum standards issued by the United Kingdom’s Department of Health. We then compare ‘shared lives’ carers and ‘personal assistants’.

The course then explores the UK’s health and safety guidelines pertaining to domiciliary care and explains how to identify individuals who are at risk. Accidents may occur during work activities, resulting in injuries or even death, and we lay out the procedures to follow in order to report the incident. We will show you how to report serious workplace accidents, occupational diseases and specified dangerous occurrences (or 'near misses') following ‘Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations’ (RIDDOR) standards. We outline when and how to make a RIDDOR report and how to determine if an accident that led to a death or injury is work-related. You will study the types of reportable injuries, how to prioritise risk control measures and what is considered an ‘infectious waste’.

Understanding the nature of diseases alerts us to their presence and can help us control their spread. We examine Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) and blood-borne viruses and how they are spread. You will then be taught how to employ hand hygiene techniques and prevent the spread of infection. We outline the ‘National Early Warning Score’ (NEWS), a tool developed by the Royal College of Physicians used to improve the detection and response to clinical deterioration in adult patients. We demonstrate how to carry out cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). Finally, we discuss medication management and administration, how to communicate effectively, the Mental Capacity Act and the ‘Dementia and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS). No prior knowledge is necessary to take this course. These skills provided in this training course can be used to protect the wellbeing and dignity of infirm loved ones and caregiving offers a rewarding career to those with compassion.