Partnership pays dividends at Carmarthen care home

Carmarthenshire County Council works closely with organisations in the private sector to ensure staff working in the caring profession have equal access to appropriate and up-to-date training and development.
One such example of this cross-sector partnership is how the council works with the owners of Towy Castle Care Home, an independent home nestled on the hillside between Carmarthen and Kidwelly.
With sweeping views across the Towy, residents are treated to surroundings worthy of a five star hotel, but it’s also the efforts of owners Robert and Sharon Davies that really make a difference.
Like many others in the independent sector, Towy Castle must retain excellent care standards – firstly to ensure its residents are comfortable and properly looked after, but secondly to maintain a demanding business.
Robert, who runs the 37-bed home with his wife, is Vice Chair of the Carmarthenshire Social Care Workforce Development Partnership – Chair of which is the county council’s Director of Social Care, Health and Housing, Bruce McLernon.
Led by the council, the partnership ensures that the values, skills, knowledge and competence of staff developing and delivering social care services in Carmarthenshire are second to none.
It operates on the principal of ‘One Sector, One Workforce’, which means that regardless of whether the carer is employed by the council, or by an independent provider, they will have equality of access to training and development.
Membership of the partnership spans both health and social care and includes representatives of Hywel Dda Health Board, the voluntary sector, further education and service users and carers.
“It really is great to be involved in such a partnership,” said Robert. “It means that our staff can benefit from the same training as staff employed by the council. By playing such a role in the partnership I’m able to keep abreast of developments and work closely with the council to ensure all carers have the right access to training and development, which is vitally important.”
Principal Learning and Development Advisor for Social Care, Ruth Bowman, added: “The partnership prides itself on the importance it attaches to equipping the workforce with the capabilities and skills necessary to undertake social care work effectively.
“While each employer remains responsible for ensuring their staff are appropriately trained, during 2010-11 the Social Care Workforce Development programme supported over 6,864 attendances on a variety of learning events across children’s and adult services. This included a substantial programme of adult protection training with almost 400 places offered to health and social care staff in Carmarthenshire.”
For more information on SCWDP learning and development programmes, visit the health and social care pages at www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk