Personal Care
Personal care is the support and supervision of daily personal living tasks and private hygiene and toileting, along with dressing and maintaining your personal appearance.
Personal care for the elderly can cover, but is not limited to:
- Bathing and showering, including bed-baths
- Applying lotions and creams as required
- Dressing and getting ready for bed
- Oral hygiene
- Applying make-up, and hair care
- Support with shaving
- Foot care, especially if you are diabetic need to be extra vigilant with your feet
- Helping you to the toilet, including using a commode or bed pan
- Changing continence pads, along with cleaning intimate areas
- Support moving position in bed, to stretch and prevent bed sores
- Changing or maintaining a stoma or catheter bag, or other form of clinical intervention
In getting to know you as a person, your care plan will outline your likes and dislikes, the hygiene or beauty products you want to use and what – and who – you feel most comfortable with. Particular tasks, such as shaving and diabetic foot care, will always be outlined in your support plan with specific instructions for your carer.
Each carer is expertly trained to provide personal care in a way that is discreet and respectful of your personal boundaries. They undertake extensive training where they learn the importance of enabling your dignity and independence at all times.
Despite the fact that carers are trained to provide all elements of personal care, you may choose to do some things for yourself. A skilled caregiver will always give you space when you need it and will work to increase your independence wherever possible.
The options for personal care
Personal care assistance, like all forms of care, is tailored to your specific requirements and habits. If you like to wash before breakfast or take a bath before bed, a caregiver will gladly follow your routine, allowing you to live your life as you wish.
You can choose to have a visiting carer – someone who comes to your home at specific times of the day or even overnight – to provide the assistance you require with home care. If you require continuing assistance, having a live-in caregiver who lives with you and provides 24 hour care may be the best option. Here's additional information about what living in care entails.
In addition to personal care, many carers assist with other activities. In fact, they're trained to give medication, assist persons with limited mobility in moving around the house securely (particularly with the use of hoists and supports), cook meals, conduct household duties, and even provide companionship, ongoing support, and encouragement.
Please contact our team to learn more about what a caregiver may do to help. Your local Helping Hands consultant can come to your home to talk about your options and set up the support you need.