Personal Care

What personal care actually involves

Personal care is the help most people picture when they think of home care: assistance with personal hygiene, dressing, continence care and moving safely in and out of bed. It is the most private support we give, and how it is given matters as much as what gets done.

A visit follows the same shape each time. The carer arrives, checks how you are, and works through the routine you agreed — not one we decided for you. If you would rather wash at the sink than shower, that is what happens. If you can dress yourself and only need help with buttons and shoes, we do that part and leave the rest to you.

How visits are arranged

Most people start with one visit a day, usually in the morning. From there it can go up to four visits, overnight support, or live-in care if things change. The shortest visit we offer is 30 minutes, because less than that is not enough time to do personal care properly and without rushing.

The care plan is written after the assessment. It records what help you want and when, and the details that matter to you — which side of the bed you get out of, which soap you use, whether the radio goes on. Every carer who comes to you reads it before their first visit.

Keeping the same faces

We build a small team around each person rather than sending whoever is free that day. Personal care depends on trust, and trust does not survive a different stranger every morning. When a regular carer is off, we tell you beforehand who is coming instead.

Before we start

Every carer is DBS checked, trained in moving and handling before they lift anyone, and supervised in your home during their first weeks. Where your care involves equipment — a hoist, a stand aid, a profiling bed — they are trained on that equipment before they work with you.

What we cannot do

We are not a nursing service. Anything needing a registered nurse — injections, complex wound care, setting up PEG feeding — stays with the district nursing team, and we work alongside them. If you are not sure which of the two you need, call us and we will tell you straight.

Palliative care support

For people with a life-limiting illness, we can provide compassionate personal care and practical support at home. We follow your wishes and work alongside your family and healthcare professionals; clinical treatment remains with the relevant healthcare team.