Everyday support
Support worker
Someone paid to help with daily living, from showering and dressing to getting out of the house, and often the support that changes life most.
Paid support, usually not a registered health profession.
A support worker does the practical, physical, everyday things. Showering, dressing, meals, transfers, getting to appointments, being present so somebody else can leave the house. They are usually not clinically trained, and for many households they are the support that makes the difference between managing and not.
How you reach this person, and who pays, depends on where you live. Set your country in Location and Compass will show what applies there.
What they can help with
- Personal care, including showering, toileting and dressing
- Transfers and hoisting, once trained on your particular equipment
- Meals, and help with eating where that is needed
- Getting out, to appointments or to anything else
- Being there so the person who usually helps can rest
- Overnight support in some arrangements
When you might meet them
- When daily tasks have become a two-person job
- When the person helping you needs to sleep, work or leave the house
- Before a crisis, because arranging this takes time everywhere
- When personal care has started to strain a relationship, which is a common and legitimate reason
Things you could ask about
- Can I choose who comes, and can I have the same people?
- Are they trained on my hoist and my equipment specifically?
- What happens if someone does not turn up?
- Can they help with this particular thing, or is it outside what they are allowed to do?
- How much notice do you need to change the times?
Not to be confused with
Not a nurse. There are usually limits on what a support worker may do with medication, tubes or ventilation without specific training and delegation, and those limits differ by country and by provider. Ask rather than assume. Not a family carer either, although in South Africa the same word, caregiver, is commonly used for both the paid worker and the family member.