Personal care means hands-on help with the body: washing, bathing, dressing, using the toilet, moving safely, and managing medication. It’s the most common reason families call a home care provider, and the hardest to raise with the person who needs it.
What personal care covers
- Washing and bathing — a full bath or shower, a strip wash at the sink, or a bed bath where mobility is limited
- Dressing and undressing, including compression stockings, which are genuinely difficult alone
- Oral care — teeth, dentures, mouth care
- Grooming — shaving, hair, nails (though diabetic foot care goes to a podiatrist)
- Continence support — help to the toilet, pads, catheter and stoma care where the carer is trained
- Moving and transfers — in and out of bed, chair to commode, using a hoist or slide sheet where two carers are needed
- Repositioning to prevent pressure sores
- Medication — prompting, or administering where the provider is CQC-registered and the carer trained
- Eating and drinking support where needed
- Skin care, creams and observing for early pressure damage
It does not include clinical tasks — wound dressings, injections, blood tests. Those belong to the district nursing team, with whom good carers work closely.
Personal care requires CQC registration
This is a legal line, not a preference. In England, any organisation providing personal care must be registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission. Companionship and cleaning don’t require it; the moment someone helps with washing, dressing or medication, it does.
So check registration before anything else. A cleaner who “doesn’t mind helping Mum in the shower” is a well-meant arrangement with no training, no insurance for that task, no supervision and no safeguarding oversight. See CQC ratings explained.
What a visit actually looks like
A typical morning call runs 30–60 minutes:
- The carer arrives, greets the person by name and says what they’ve come to do
- Checks how they’ve been, and how they slept
- Warms the bathroom, gets towels and clothes ready before anything else starts
- Supports washing at whatever level of help is needed — and only that level
- Helps with dressing, with the person choosing what to wear
- Prompts or administers medication and records it
- Often prepares breakfast and leaves a drink within reach
- Writes in the care log, notes anything of concern, and escalates if needed
Good personal care is unhurried. If visits routinely feel rushed, that’s usually a rota problem — raise it with the provider, and ask whether travel time between calls is paid.
Dignity is the whole job
For most people, this is the hardest help to accept. Being washed by a stranger at 82, having spent sixty years washing everyone else, is a significant loss.
What good carers do:
- Explain each step before doing it. No surprises, nothing done to someone without warning.
- Keep them covered — expose only the part being washed, and re-cover immediately.
- Warm the room first. Cold is the most common reason people refuse a wash, and it’s the easiest to fix.
- Offer choices constantly — bath or shower, now or after breakfast, this cardigan or that one. Authority preserved in small decisions.
- Encourage rather than take over. If they can wash their own face, hand them the flannel. Every retained task matters.
- Close doors and curtains. Obvious, frequently forgotten.
- Talk to them, not over them — especially where two carers are present.
More in maintaining dignity during personal care.
When someone refuses
Refusal is usually about fear, cold or dignity rather than the wash itself. Try:
- Warming the room and having everything ready before starting
- Offering a strip wash instead of a shower
- The same carer every time — trust takes weeks, not minutes
- A same-sex carer, if that’s their preference. Always ask; many won’t volunteer it
- Coming back in twenty minutes rather than insisting
- Checking for pain — someone with arthritis may be refusing the standing, not the washing
For dementia specifically, see dementia care at home. Family members are frequently refused where a paid carer is accepted — the loss of dignity is less acute with someone who isn’t your daughter.
Cost and funding
Personal care is charged at standard hourly rates — typically £28–£38 an hour in West Sussex in 2026, with evenings and weekends carrying an uplift and double-up calls costing twice the rate. Minimum visit charges vary; ask what a 30-minute call is actually billed at.
Funding: Attendance Allowance (£76.70 or £114.60 a week, not means-tested), council support after a needs assessment, or NHS Continuing Healthcare. Your property isn’t counted for care at home. See the cost guide and funding guide.
Find care near you
Tell us your postcode and what you need help with. We pass your details to one vetted CQC-registered agency in your area — you are told who they are, and that they pay us a fee, before anything is sent.
Frequently asked questions
What is personal care?
Hands-on help with washing, bathing, dressing, oral care, grooming, continence support, moving and transfers, repositioning, medication and eating. It doesn’t include clinical tasks like wound dressings or injections, which are district nursing work.
Does personal care require CQC registration?
Yes. In England, any organisation providing personal care must be registered with and inspected by the Care Quality Commission. Companionship and cleaning don’t require it, but help with washing, dressing or medication does.
Can I request a female carer?
Yes, and you should ask — many people have a strong preference and won’t raise it unprompted. Providers will normally accommodate it, though same-sex carers for men can occasionally take longer to arrange given the workforce make-up.
How long is a personal care visit?
Usually 30 to 60 minutes, sometimes longer for a full bath or where two carers are needed. If visits feel consistently rushed, raise it with the provider and ask whether carers are paid for travel time between calls.
What if my relative refuses personal care?
Usually it’s fear, cold or dignity rather than the wash. Warm the room, have everything ready first, offer a strip wash instead, use the same carer each time, ask about a same-sex carer, and try again shortly rather than insisting. Check for pain too.
The Care Panel is an independent publication. We are not a care provider and are not regulated by the Care Quality Commission, because we do not deliver care. Always check a provider’s own CQC registration and inspection report before you commit.
Written and fact-checked by The Care Panel. Last updated September 2026. General information, not medical advice.