Personal Care

This service consists of:

  • Assisting client to get out of bed, undress and dressing and put to bed.
  • Assisting client to have a wash, shower or bath including washing of hair, grooming, shaving, mouth care, bed bath and oral hygiene.
  • Assisting client with toilet requirements including cleaning and safe disposal of waste.
  • Helping client to eat or take a drink, prepare breakfast, hot meals, and snacks, cook cultural food or cuisine, continental dishes, including associated kitchen cleaning and hygiene.
  • Assisting client with prescribed medication or other health-related tasks in accordance with the local agreed policy or as specified in the service user care plan.
  • Helping service user with transfers - mobility and transportation using mobility aids or equipments.
  • Assisting client with general correspondences where necessary.
  • Assist client to attend day care centre and hospital appointments.
  • Assisting client with sitting services
  • Continent management and infection control
  • Pressure sore management
  • Responding to household emergencies including liaison with the authorities and local contractors - floating support services.
  • Hair platting
  • Assist client with escort services - i.e. outing to places of worship, theatres, pictures, educational establishments, playgrounds, socialising and befriending etc.
  • Medication and Health related activities - Assist client to take prescribed medications, collection of prescriptions, attend GP surgeries.

Note: The Care Standards Act 2000 did not include a definition of "personal care". In broad terms, personal care falls into four main types of care as identified by the Care Standards Act 2000 which are:

  • Assistance with bodily functions such as feeding, bathing and toileting
  • Care falling just short of assistance with bodily functions, but still involving physical and intimate touching, including activities such as helping a person get out of a bath and helping them to get dressed.
  • Non-physical care, such as advice, encouragement and supervision relating to the foregoing, such as prompting a person to take a bath and supervising them during this.
  • Emotional and psychological support, including the promotion of social functioning, behaviour management, and assistance with cognitive functions.

However "Personal Care" is defined in our books as - "an undertaking of activity which requires a degree of close personal and physical contact with a person, regardless of age who for reasons associated with disability, frailty, illness or personal physical capacity are unable to provide it themselves without assistance".