what is a personal support worker?
As a personal support worker, you assist your clients with their daily activities. You work with people who have chronic illnesses or disabilities to help them live independently. Your role is varied since each person has unique needs. However, you primarily provide physical and emotional support. For instance, you help your patients carry out their daily tasks and teach them new coping skills for a fulfilled life.
When you are a personal support worker, you help people with diverse needs, including learning disabilities, mental health needs, autism and physical disabilities. That means you sometimes provide support with personal care or life skills like paying bills or shopping. You also work with healthcare professionals to meet your clients' health needs.
As a personal support worker, you work in diverse settings depending on your clients. Sometimes, you work from the patient's private residence or in health and social care settings like care homes and supported living environments. Some community health care centres have personal support workers who visit people with disabilities in the community. The role requires emotional intelligence and empathy to understand people's needs and help them live independently.
Would working as a personal support worker suit your emotional intelligence and ability to build good relationships? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a personal support worker role.
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average salary of a personal support worker
According to ONS, the median personal support worker salary is £23,400 per year or £12 hourly in the private sector. As an entry-level worker, your compensation package starts at £21,450 yearly. Experienced personal support workers take home over £29,359 per year.
Some personal support workers in the UK work for the NHS, and their salaries are based on the Band system. Their compensation package usually starts at Band 1 or 2. That means you earn £18,546 at entry-level positions and progress to higher Bands as you gain experience. Senior support workers earn Band 3 or 4 salaries, which start at £20,330 and £22,549, respectively.
what factors increase the salaries of personal support workers?
Your experience and qualifications usually dictate your compensation package. Specialising in specific care like learning disability or autism improves your salary prospects. Having additional qualifications also boosts your earnings and increases your chances of moving up the ladder. When you have extensive experience, your starting salary is higher than that of entry-level workers.
Your employer also influences your earnings. For instance, working for the NHS limits your earnings to a specific level in the Band system. However, private care homes and social care agencies pay higher salaries.
types of personal support workers
The types of personal support workers include:
- disability support workers: as a personal support worker, you work with people living with various disabilities. You help them achieve independence by teaching them coping skills. You also assist with personal care routines and help them reach their goals and lead fulfilled lives.
- autism support workers: a personal support worker also helps people with autism and supports them in completing daily tasks. Apart from assisting with personal care, you support them in their interactions with other people.
- mental health support workers: you may also work with clients with mental health needs. You assist them with their daily routines, like shopping and exercising. You also ensure they take medication and get to appointments on time.
working as a personal support worker
Working as a personal support worker involves caring for people with various needs. A family may need help supporting an elder or a person with a disability. If you want to join the profession, check out the duties, work environments and job outlook of personal support workers.
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duties and responsibilities
The duties and responsibilities of a personal support worker vary depending on the work setting. Some of your standard duties include:
- assisting with personal hygiene: you provide bedside and personal care to clients. For instance, you help them with tasks like bathing, dressing and dental care. If the client has restricted mobility, you help them move around and assist them with using the toilet or getting what they want.
- administering medication: as a personal support worker, you administer medication to clients based on the instructions of a healthcare professional. For instance, in a care home setting, you administer injections or remind clients to take medicine at the right time. You also change wound dressings and collect specimens for testing requested by the doctor.
- completing light housekeeping tasks: you ensure your client lives in a clean environment. That means you complete some housekeeping tasks like doing laundry and sweeping or mopping floors. You also wash the dishes, change bedding for the patient and vacuum carpets. If the clients can perform some of the tasks, you help them to avoid accidents or injuries.
- planning and preparing meals: you help your client stick to the recommended diet. Your job is to plan the meals based on their dietary needs and cook the food. If the patient has difficulty eating, you feed them. Healthy eating keeps them strong and on track with their treatment plan.
- completing errands: your role involves running errands like shopping and paying bills. You assist your clients with budgeting tasks and ensure their groceries and medication are delivered on time.
- writing reports: you maintain a progress report and write notes on the patient at each visit. You record the activities done throughout the day and medications administered. Your notes help the healthcare professional provide better treatment strategies. It also demonstrates progress towards independent living.
- proving emotional support to families: as a personal support worker, you provide progress reports to the patient's family. Your job is to address their concerns and help them deal with the emotions associated with a loved one's illness or disability.
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work environment
Personal support workers work in diverse environments based on their duties. For instance, a domestic personal support worker works in the patient's home. If you work for an agency, you either work with the same patient or rotate different residences. Your duties also differ based on the client's specific needs. When you work in a clinical or care home setting, you work indoors, assisting patients with various tasks. You help patients move around the facility and get the tests they need. The role usually involves travelling if you work in different residences weekly. However, you cannot work from home since you provide hands-on services to patients. In some work settings, you wear a uniform to indicate your role.
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who are your colleagues?
Depending on your employer, your colleagues may include care workers, healthcare assistants and registered nurses. You also work with physiotherapists, physiotherapy assistants, and mental health nurses, as well as other specialists that could include psychologists, learning disability nurses and community nurses.
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work schedule
Your work schedule as a personal support worker is not predictable. Ill or older people need care throughout the day, so you work shifts where you're needed. You work daytime, evening or overnight shifts in a care facility. You have opportunities to work full-time or part-time hours; most full-time personal support workers work over 40 hours a week. If you're self-employed, you can decide which jobs you do based on the hours and the shifts the client needs.
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job outlook
The job outlook in the field of healthcare is promising overall. The outlook for personal support workers is good due to the ageing population in the UK. You also have opportunities for career progression as a personal support worker. You can become a social worker, community nurse or care home manager with additional qualifications. Some personal support workers specialise in caring for a specific group of people.
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advantages of finding a personal support worker job through randstad
Finding your personal support worker job through Randstad provides important advantages such as:
- a wide variety of training and development opportunities
- an experienced contact person to provide help if needed
- a range of opportunities in your area
- get paid weekly or monthly, depending on the job
- temporary and permanent contracts
Want a permanent contract? A temporary job as a personal support worker is often a stepping stone to an attractive permanent job. Every year, thousands of people earn a permanent contract with great employers thanks to a temporary job found through Randstad. What's more, many companies recruit their permanent employees through Randstad too!
education and skills
Some of the different ways to join the role include:
- college course: college courses for joining a personal support worker role include Level 1 Certificate in health and social care. You can also pursue a Level 2 Diploma in care or a T Level diploma in health. The courses equip you with the skills to care for different patients.
- apprenticeship: you can join the personal support worker profession on an adult care worker intermediate apprenticeship. The programme involves on-the-job training and coursework.
skills and competencies
Some of the skills of a personal support worker include:
- patience: as a personal support worker, you require patience when supporting clients. Patience helps you attend to their needs without judgement and make allowances for the demands caused by their age or disability, such as having to repeat instructions multiple times.
- active listening skills: practising active listening helps you to understand what a client is saying and better support their needs. Communication skills are also crucial for sharing information or instructions concisely.
- attention to detail: attentiveness to detail helps you to identify and support the patient's ongoing needs. It also enables you to find ways to understand people who have difficulty communicating.
FAQs
FAQs about working as a personal support worker
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what does a personal support worker do?
A personal support worker provides regular support for people who need it due to illness, surgery or old age, who cannot perform certain tasks themselves. The support ranges from helping them dress or shower to shopping, making meals, helping with organisational tasks and dispensing medication. Want to learn more about working as a personal support worker? Then check out this article.
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what skills do you need to be a personal support worker?
Because you provide extra care to someone who is ill or vulnerable, you should be kind, compassionate and trustworthy. Your friendliness and caring attitude make you a better companion for your client. Want to learn more about working as a personal support worker? Then check out this article.
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is being a psw a good career?
Being a personal support worker is an excellent way to get into the medical field without formal education or training. It's a good career if you genuinely want to help the more vulnerable and needy in your community, and it's a stepping stone to nursing and other medical positions. Want to learn more about working as a personal support worker? Then check out this article.
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do you need qualifications to be a support worker?
A personal support worker only needs GCSEs and a college course. Often, no prior experience is necessary, and your employer will provide training. The most important qualifications are being caring, trustworthy and reliable. Want to learn more about working as a personal support worker? Then check out this article.
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what is the difference between caregivers and personal support workers?
A caregiver and a personal support worker provide help in very similar ways with household tasks. Both often work in the client's home. Caregivers have fewer responsibilities as they usually do not dispense medication or perform other similar medical tasks. Want to learn more about working as a personal support worker? Then check out this article.
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how do I apply for a personal support worker vacancy?
Applying for a personal support worker job is easy: create a Randstad profile and search our personal support worker job offers. Then simply send us your CV and cover letter. Need help with your application? Check out all our job search tips here!
