What are the roles, responsibilities and duties of a care assistant?

What is a care assistant?

A care assistant may also be called a caregiver, a personal care aide, a healthcare assistant or simply a care worker or carer. They support their elderly, disabled and vulnerable clients with every aspect of their day-to-day lives.

If you are curious about the role of a care assistant, this article will provide a job description, and information about the main duties and responsibilities of a care worker.

Care assistant job description

The primary role of a care assistant is to assist elderly or disabled clients with practical tasks that they cannot manage themselves or may need encouragement to complete independently. These tasks vary from helping with washing, dressing and going to the toilet to more complex financial activities such as bill paying, shopping and escorting the client on days out and to social activities.

Due to the diverse nature of the role, care assistants perform a wide range of activities depending on the requirements, personalities and interests of their clients. Their responsibilities are especially varied when providing live-in care.

A care assistant also provides emotional support to their clients – keeping them company, getting to know them and talking to them on a regular basis. The ability to provide comforting and supportive personal and practical assistance to clients is an essential part of the role of a care assistant.

Care assistant skills and qualities

A care assistant needs to be practical and responsible enough to find efficient solutions for everyday problems faced by their client. They must also have the tact and discretion to perform tasks without causing their client any discomfort – preserving the dignity of any client is an absolute necessity.

They must also have a clear criminal record, as enhanced DBS checks are necessary for any healthcare provider role at ENA Care Group. Maintaining a clear record is a primary responsibility for any care assistant.

A care assistant requires patience, a sense of humour and the ability to relate to people from all backgrounds and walks of life. They will form close working/personal relationships with clients and must be able to sustain that bond – possibly one of the most important relationships their client has in their daily life.

Care assistants work with people in highly vulnerable positions and so kindness and empathy are important qualities. A caring personality is essential.

What are the duties and responsibilities of a live-in care assistant?

A live-in carer lives with a client 24/7 for an agreed period of time, usually between 2-12 weeks. Although a care assistant lives with a client, they are only required to provide 8 hours of care over a 24 hour period. The rest of the time is leisure time where a carer sleeps or spends time to themselves but needs to be at home on-call. A carer has 2-3 hour break each day where they are not required to be at home or on-call for a client. A live-in carer will provide care to adults with a variety of care needs such as dementia.

The responsibilities of a live-in care assistant generally include helping with normal everyday chores and activities. These include personal care such as helping a client in and out of the shower, washing (if they are unable to do so themselves), dressing and engaging in other activities such as socialising or exercise. They may also help to prepare meals, drinks and remind a person to take their medication or drink more fluids. A live-in carer may also drive their client to places they need to go and help them in and out of the car if they need mobility assistance.

We have vacancies across the UK for live-in care assistants. If you have a full clean drivers licence and a caring demeanour, why not find out more about our current positions? We provide full in-house training with the basic skills you need to know to be a live-in care assistant.