Over 30 senior care assistants from Liverpool to Newcastle-upon-Tyne have completed a 10-week care home assistant practitioner (CHAP) course.

Two celebrations were held, at Aden Court Care Home, Huddersfield, and Briarwood Care Home, Middlesbrough, where carers received their certificates from Lynda Hodgkinson, development and governance director for the Hill Care Group.

She said: “With their additional knowledge and skills, our CHAPs can contribute towards further enhancing the quality of care our residents receive.

“Everyone agreed the course had given them more confidence, skills, and knowledge to work under the direction of a registered nurse and they all said they would encourage others to consider the opportunity.

“Being able to provide an opportunity for developing new skills and offering professional development, along with enhanced leadership skills for our senior care staff, is a great way to ensure our staff are happy in their roles and have the skills and confidence to carry their duties out to a high level.

“We’re all exceptionally proud of the dedicated, hard work and perseverance they’ve shown over the 10 week course.”

Having completed the course, the CHAPs will be able to provide an enhanced level of support and care for residents, working alongside registered nurses as they provide care and interventions.

Shelby Fenwick, a former senior care assistant at Willowdene Care Home, in Hebburn, near Newcastle, is one of those to have completed the training.

She said: “I’ve worked at Willowdene for five years, starting as a care assistant on the night shift and then, after three years, I became senior care assistant on the day shift.

“When the opportunity to undertake the CHAPs training came up, it was a great way for me to develop my skills and progress in my career.

“A lot of the course was very useful and gave me a lot of confidence to assist the registered nurses in my role.”

Hill Care Group operates 36 care homes across the north of England.