Personal care assistants, also called Personal assistants in the U.K. are certainly the most significant individuals in the entire healthcare industry. A Personal Care Assistant is someone hired by the family to help the aged or impaired individual with their day to day routine.
Personal Care Assistants play an important role in the lives and well-being of aging or ill individuals. In fact, without them, it would be very difficult to maintain dignity and independence in their life.
It’s often hard to watch our dearest ones struggle with their everyday lives. And most of the time we won’t be able to fulfill their needs. And that’s when most of the family thinks about hiring a personal care assistant because a loved one’s needs have exceeded what the family can reasonably offer.
If you are someone thinking about hiring a personal care assistant you might want to consider reading the following article because this could help you find the best choice for your loved ones. So before you hire a PCA you need to have a clear idea about the following,
Factors To Consider While Hiring a Personal Assistant
- What are your needs?
- What can you afford?
- Where to find a suitable PCA?
- Interview process
- Final decision.
What Are Your Needs?
Before you hire a personal care assistant, you should have a clear idea about your needs from a PCA. What all duties you are expecting to be fulfilled by your PCA.
To give you a clear idea about some of the general duties carried out by a PCA, we have listed some of the responsibilities taken care of by them.
Responsibilities of a PCA
- Personal care
- Preparing meals
- Taking medications
- Providing support, company, and comfort to the clients
- Assisting with the exercise routine
- Keeping a close eye on the emotional and physical conditions of the clients and reporting them to relevant parties.
- Assisting with personal hygiene such as bathing, dressing, brushing teeth, and more
- Engaging patients in convenient activities such as walking, playing games, engaging in conversation, and more
- Escorting clients for outings and arranging transportation to medical appointments.
So these are some of the duties performed by a PCA. If you have some other tasks in mind then make sure the person you are hiring is capable of doing that.
Where to Find a PCA?
You can hire a personal care assistant all by yourself and manage them yourself or you can seek the help of an agency or support providers to hire one for you. Hiring a PCA by seeking the help of Entrust Care all by yourself gives you the advantage of freedom, and flexibility, and might help you reduce expenses.
But the advantage of contacting a service provider or agency is that it will save you time and reduce your responsibility as an employer. These service providers will give you well-trained PCAs for your assistance. Here at Entrust Care, we provide you with qualified and experienced personal care assistants for your needs.
The Interview Process
Before the interview process, make a list of requirements you have and the qualities you are looking for in your PCA such as the following.
- What are the tasks you need their help with
- Any particular qualifications or skills they must have
- The number of hours or days you need them to work
A detailed job description can help us to select a suitable PCA for you and your loved ones. Once you receive a few applicants, shortlist 2,3 candidates you find desirable and conduct a personal interview to get to know them better.
The following are some of the questions you can ask your candidates during the interview:
- What experience do you have in this kind of work?
- How much do you charge?
- Tell me about similar work experiences you have had in the past.
- Ask them about their training and personal interests
- Do you work on weekends / other holidays?
- Is it possible to arrange a short trial period to see how it works out?
The Final Decision
While making the final decision make sure that the person you are going to hire loves what they do. Be certain that they prioritize the well-being of their clients, have good interpersonal skills, a caring approach, and are physically fit for the role.
Wrapping up
Hiring a personal assistant for elderly, impaired, and other individuals needs to be done carefully as the assistant would act as a support system for them. Make sure they are compassionate, kind, and empathetic towards people. Here at Entrust Care, we provide experienced and qualified personal assistant to help you and your loved ones have a better life.