Specialist Healthcare Training
What we do
Specialist Healthcare Training Service offers a range of virtual and classroom-based training plus one to one competency assessments in healthcare tasks such as Buccal Midazolam administration and gastrostomy feeding. The service covers the whole of Essex (excluding Thurrock and Southend) and is commissioned to work with establishments who receive funding either through Essex County Council or Short Breaks funding. If you work for a company not receiving funding then we may be still able to assist you with training and would encourage you to phone or email us to discuss your training needs.
This service is for carers and providers in Essex who are referred by a professional or care manager from a range of provider organisations, including:
- Residential short-break settings (managed by Essex County Council).
- Short-break providers funded by Essex County Council
- Fostering/Shared Care.
- Special schools (or mainstream with a child with a disability).
- Variety of play schemes for disabled children.
- Variety of out-of-school clubs for disabled children.
- Transport provider staff.
Our team
Our team of experienced nurses offer education, training, competency assessment and support for staff who work with children with a disability who have any of the following additional healthcare needs:
- Seizures requiring emergency intervention, such as rectal diazepam, buccal midazolam or rectal paraldehyde.
- Enteral feeding via nasogastric tube, gastrostomy or jejunostomy.
- Administration of oxygen and oxygen saturation monitoring.
- Oral/nasal suction.
- Severe allergic reactions (anaphylaxis) requiring emergency intervention, such as Epipen, Emerade or Jext pen.
- Requirement for assisted artificial ventilation, such as BiPAP or CPAP.
- Other needs, which will be considered on an individual basis.
Depending on the needs of your child, we may ask care staff to watch our training videos followed by a virtual assessment or attend classroom training in subjects such as epilepsy, tube feeding or severe allergies. In addition to this, a nurse will meet with the people caring for your child to go through your child’s individual and specific needs and requirements.
We continue to monitor the competence of staff working with your child, calling them back for training when necessary. We also provide ongoing advice and support to those staff so that they have a point of contact if they have any training issues relating to the care they are undertaking for your child.
Where you can Find Us
We deliver our service throughout the Essex area and can be contacted via email:
provide.specialisthealthcare@nullnhs.net
or for our transport services:
provide.transporttraining@nullnhs.net
or call us: 01245 397647
We operate 9am-5pm Monday to Friday
How to refer to the Specialist Healthcare Training team
Your child must be referred by any professional, such as social workers, care-staff managers, family-care workers or managers, and school teachers or care staff.
They can call our administrator on the number in the contacts box on this page. They will be sent a referral form by email, fax or post, including details of how to return it.
We are not able to accept referrals direct from children or their families.
Referrals will be dealt with within one month. They are presented to a multi-agency panel, which meets on the first Friday of every month (except August) and to which the referrer is welcome to attend to discuss the requirements of the request.
Urgent referrals, such as training to facilitate an emergency placement, can be fast-tracked and started before presentation to the panel.
If your child accesses a service where you feel the staff will need training, please advise the manager or your child’s social worker to contact us to organise the referral.
Once we have received the referral you will be given a consent form to sign to say that you are happy for us to access healthcare information, before we undertake any training about or with your child.
To download our referral form click here.
