By Greg Richardson-Cheater, Richardson Care
When looking after vulnerable adults, the importance of a caring and respectful workplace culture may sound obvious. Sadly, however, news headlines tell us that it’s not always the case.
In addition, someone with a brain injury or severe learning disabilities may have complex emotional, as well as physical and cognitive difficulties, and has often experienced trauma.
These challenges mean that some situations can quickly cause anxiety and lead to escalations in their behaviour if they are not understood or managed correctly.
If care staff become defensive, due to a lack of understanding or the skills to manage a situation, this can lead to a lack of compassion and respect in the workplace and sadly develop into a toxic environment.
Therefore on-going trauma-informed, person-centred care training is essential to prevent situations from escalating into crises.
A person-centred approach transforms care models from reactive interventions to proactive therapeutic relationships.
This requires:
- Recognising that the person knows themselves best
- Considering their life experiences, including trauma
- Understanding that every person is unique and may react differently in different situations
- Valuing the person’s rights and dignity
Trauma-informed care recognises that challenging behaviours often stem from unmet needs and past traumatic relationships. It implements preventative strategies that create safety and promote healing, rather than re-traumatisation.
Safety Intervention Training
Safety intervention training is crucial in order to equip care staff with the skills and understanding to prevent situations from escalating so that they can maximise safety and minimise harm.
Richardson Care joined CPI (The Crisis Prevention Institute) over 27 years ago when our founder, Brian Richardson, was looking for a suitable staff training programme.
He wanted something that embodied the ethos of the company: ensuring that every interaction prioritises the safety, dignity and autonomy of the individuals we support.
This was unusual at the time, and the start of an enduring partnership.
What is CPI?
CPI is an organisation that teaches professionals the skills to identify, prevent and de-escalate crises in the workplace. It trains individuals in safety intervention, as well as certifying them to train other members of staff, therefore empowering organisations to equip their staff with the right skills.
Its philosophy of changing behaviours and reducing conflict for the care, welfare, safety and security of everyone, aligns completely with our values at Richardson Care.
Predicting Potential Crisis Situations
Safety intervention training embeds the core concept that an individual’s crisis is often a predictable event with observable stages – from initial anxiety to defensive behaviour. Staff are empowered to understand individuals, recognising their signs of anxiety, and to respond early with supportive and directive verbal techniques.
Recognising that certain behaviours stem from unmet needs and/or past traumatic experiences can enable staff to better support the individual.
We can often successfully de-escalate a situation using verbal cues, supportive body language and environmental management, therefore preserving the individual’s sense of control and self-worth.
Every successful non-physical intervention validates the person’s right to self-determination. It affirms our commitment to their dignity. On the other hand, unnecessary or excessive intervention shatters trust, erodes privacy and diminishes choice.
Importance of Language in Workplace Culture
The language used within an organisation plays a key role in the workplace culture and the delivery of quality care. Small changes, for example, from: “What’s wrong with you?” to “What’s happened to you?” demonstrate better empathy and professional relationships.
Language also directly influences understanding, trust and co-operation. Clear and respectful language that is appropriate for the individual helps reduce anxiety, prevent escalation and support individuals to feel heard and valued.
This is particularly important when they have cognitive, communication or emotional challenges. In addition, using simple, consistent wording and avoiding jargon is essential to assist in understanding and to maintain safety.
The Point of Last Resort
The principle of the point of last resort mandates that restrictive intervention is never an initial option; it is only used when there is an imminent and immediate risk of harm and all less-intrusive methods have failed.
Hand-in-hand with this is the least-restrictive intervention principle.
CPI’s physical techniques are taught within a highly-regulated structure, ensuring that if intervention becomes necessary, the method chosen is the minimum required to safely manage the crisis and restore safety.
This philosophy directly impacts the daily experience of our service users.
By actively minimising restrictive practices, we are consistently reinforcing service users’ respect, choice, dignity, privacy and self-determination.
On-going Investment in Safety Intervention
Our 27-year partnership with CPI is an ongoing investment in our ethical duty. It is a constant reminder that our goal is not simply compliance, but compassionate person-centred care.
By placing the least restrictive intervention and the point of last resort at the heart of our practice, we ensure that every action we take supports our service users in living their lives with maximum possible independence, safety and respect.
We were pleased to invite Michelle Dewsall, Acting Global Professional Manager at CPI, to our company conference in November.
She very much enjoyed being part of it, saying: “Through the conversations I had, the presentations I attended, and the observable interactions between staff, I could see, hear, and feel the depth of thought, care, hard work and dedication your organisation has in providing the best possible care for the vulnerable people resident in your community.
“It was clear that there is a culture in which innovation and ideas are welcomed, and outstanding practice is seen as an ongoing journey.”
Richardson Care is specialist provider of neuro rehab services for adults with acquired brain injury, or learning disabilities and complex needs.
An independent family business with a 37-year track record, it has six specialist homes in Northampton.
To find out more or arrange a visit, call 01604 791266, www.richardsoncares.co.uk.
