Unit 245
1. As a carer your role is not to do things for the individuals you care for but to do the tasks including the service user. A support workers role is to work in partnership with the individual and support their decisions, offer as much or as little assistance the service user requires for their care and support them to do as much as possible for themselves. If you provide too much care for an individual they can lose their skills and independence and not learn any new life skills. By providing support and encouraging the individual to participate in their daily living needs you are helping them to develop and maintain their skills for everyday life. Skills are easily regained if the service user is shown how to complete a task. For example if a service user is having a shower and would usually have his hair washed for him, why not show him how to wash his own hair. Whilst providing personal care for my residents when it comes to hair washing, I normally provide the shampoo and apply the shampoo to the service users palm. I then mimmick washing my own hair and ask the service user to copy me. This is also useful in showing a service user where needs to be washed. I also talk to the service user about the task they are doing, for example I would mimmick washing my arms and say wash your arms that's it, don't forget underneath your arm. This is enforcing new skills as well as maintaining them, it also empowers the service user as they have achieved this task themselves with minimal support.