THE management teams of a group of care homes, including Hulton Care Home in Nelson, have won an industry award for their innovative learning and development programme.

The ‘touch’ learning and development programme for HC-One staff was won at this year’s Peer Awards, E-Learning Awards and Training Journal Awards, fighting off competition from the likes of Virgin Media, Vodafone, PricewaterhouseCoopers and AEG, owners of The O2 Arena.

The ‘touch’ programme provides tailored personal development solutions to HC-One staff, including specialist subjects such as how to care for those living with dementia, which is endorsed by the Alzheimer’s Society.

‘Touch’ is delivered innovatively in a people-focused care environment through mixed media, animations, face-to-face workshops, games, video and e-learning.

HC-One’s chief executive, David Spruzen, said: “One of the most exciting aspects for me is that when I visit homes across the country, the members of staff I speak to often say the ‘touch’ programme has changed the way they work and has given them much more confidence in the care they provide to our residents.

“As a result, we have seen a marked improvement in the quality of life for resid-ents and their relatives.”