5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant

Care Assistants are the bread and butter of residential homes. They perform a huge range of jobs, but these are often broken down into the 5 key duties of a Care Assistant.

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Personal Care

This involves dressing, washing, and taking care of residents’ appearances amongst other things – literally, taking care of their person. Many people in Homes are unable to perform tasks such as trimming their nails, washing themselves, or toileting, without assistance.

If this role went unperformed, residents would quickly begin to suffer physical and psychological consequences.

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Companionship

Life in a residential home can be lonely, as many residents don’t receive frequent visits from friends and family.

According to a study in 2019, 40% of Home residents felt lonely enough that it impacted their quality of life. It’s therefore important that Care Assistants do what they can to provide companionship for those in their trust.

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Domestic Care

This duty involves looking after Residents’ personal spaces, and assisting them with living their lives. Examples include cleaning, ironing, laundry, helping to make appointments, helping to schedule visits, and even things as simple as making them a cup of tea.

Consider though, that many Residents will want to assist you with these tasks, or even perform them themselves, as it helps them to maintain a sense of independence. If a resident wants to do things themselves, be ready to help, but most importantly, be patient! Doing everyday tasks can be an excellent way to increase residents’ confidence.

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Mobility

Many Residents will struggle with mobility, sue to injury, disability, frailty, or other reasons. Tasks we think very little of, such as standing up, traversing the Home, and getting out of bed can pose a challenge.

One of the 5 key duties of a Care Assistant is to aid residents with these tasks, to prevent injury and discomfort, and to help them lead a more fulfilling life. Counterintuitively, assisting residents with mobility also improves their sense of independence, as it can give them the freedom to choose what they want to do and where they want to be – even if they haven’t the strength to carry it out themselves.

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Health

Maintaining and caring for Residents’ health isn’t just the job of the Nurses at the Home. Care Assistants often have to provide medication for residents (signed off by a RGN), assist with creating a care plan, and liaising with the friends and family of Residents to assess the strength of that care plan.

As Care Assistants are the main point of contact between the Home and the Residents, it’s also the Care Assistants’ job to update Residents’ records if there are any developments with their condition. What’s more, all of the other 5 key duties of a Care Assistant contribute greatly to residents’ physical and mental health.

All in all, Care Assistants play an important role in looking after the health of Residents!

5 Key Duties Of A Care Assistant – Summary

In summary, the 5 key duties of a Care Assistant are:

• Providing personal care
• Providing companionship
• Providing domestic care
• Assisting with mobility
• Assisting with day-to-day healthcare needs

Working As An Agency Care Assistant:

Medilink Nursing is an agency for Nurses and Care Assistants, who we provide with temporary cover shifts at our clients’ Homes.

Our agency staff use us for extra shifts here and there to boost their income on top of another job, or take shifts with us as a way of working part-time. We never pressure staff into accepting vacancies, so it’s up to you to choose how you’d like to work with us. For more information about joining our team, have a read of our page, “Why you should join Medilink Nursing“!