Last Updated on 28/02/2024 by Samantha Lewis
The BHTA is delighted to be working in partnership with TACT (Trusted Assessing and Care Training) to launch a brand-new course designed for retailers of independent living equipment.
The Trusted Assessors: Assessing in the Retail Environment course is designed to accredit retailer members as Trusted Assessors.
This new training-based programme announced on February 6th at the Retailer Day enables customer-facing staff to learn the skills involved in assessing for suitable home adaptations equipment. The course was developed by TACT in consultation with the BHTA and its members and it is accredited by OCN London.
Retailers of equipment for independent living are experts in the product solutions they range, and this enables them to check suitability and tailor products to individual people’s needs. Many retailers are relied on in their local areas to visit people at home and demonstrate equipment to help people live independently. The Trusted Assessor model is based on occupational therapy models of practice and learning this approach enables an Assessor to evaluate the person and their environment in a systematic way to identify the best solution. Assessors are taught when to refer a case to an OT (Occupational Therapist) and this ensures best use of staff and resources whilst speeding up access to much-needed equipment.
‘We’re delighted to be working with the BHTA to provide this Trusted Assessor course to their members. It’s a splendid example of how staff already visiting older and disabled people at home can be taught to carry out simple assessments for home adaptations with a best practice approach based on the Competency Framework. Expanding the range of Assessors working in the UK by harnessing the skills of this specialist retail sector is an innovative way of speeding up access to much-needed equipment,’ says Clare Barber, Director of TACT and an OT specialising in this field.
‘This programme underlines the BHTA’s commitment to quality and raising standards in the sector,’ says David Stockdale, Chief Executive at BHTA ‘The Trusted Assessor model is known and in widespread practice in health, social care, and housing services across the UK. This initiative enables our retail members to be aligned with a best practice approach in assessing for equipment that in turn means they can be integrated into local pathways. Older and disabled people can expect to gain faster access to important solutions for their independence and be confident in the impartial advice provided.’
Courses can be commissioned directly from TACT or learners can book onto an open course – the first open course will run on June 4th in Warwick at Wenman Healthcare. To book onto the course or find out more please email TACT on info@trustedassessing.com or visit their website and complete a web enquiry https://trustedassessing.com/
