Unit of competency details

Descriptor 

This unit describes the knowledge and skills required by workers within their designated role and responsibilities to support or assist a client with their personal care needs within the framework of an individualised care support plan

Application 

This unit is appropriate for application in a residential, home care or community care environment with clients who require support to address their personal needs and whose specific support requirements have been assessed and documented in an individualised care support plan 

Employability Skills 

This unit contains Employability Skills

Elements define the essential outcomes of a unit of competency.

The Performance Criteria specify the level of performance required to demonstrate achievement of the Element. Terms in italics are elaborated in the Range Statement.

ELEMENT 

PERFORMANCE CRITERIA 

1. Apply understanding of client's personal support requirements 

1.1 Review personal care support plan  with client to confirm support requirements to address personal care needs

1.2 Confirm personal support  requirements within scope of knowledge, skills and/or job role and seek appropriate support/inputs for those outside scope

1.3 Consider the potential impact  that provision of personal care support may have on the client and confirm with supervisor

1.4 Consider specific cultural needs of the client relevant to personal support

1.5 Consider risks associated with the provision of support and confirm with supervisor

1.6 Identify equipment , processes and aids  for providing assistance and promoting independence

1.7 Identify aspects of processes and aids outside skills and knowledge and/or job role and seek appropriate support

2. Provide support within the context of maximum client participation

2.1 Confirm procedures with the client

2.2 Consider and confirm the client's level of participation in meeting their personal care needs

2.3 Confirm the client's preferences

2.4 Provide the client with information to assist them in meeting their own personal care needs

3. Address personal support requirements

3.1 Prepare and use necessary processes, equipment, aids and appliances in an appropriate and safe manner

3.2 Provide support or assistance according to the personal care plan and organisation policies, protocols and procedures

3.3 Provide support or assistance in the context of identified risks

3.4 Assist client, as required, with:

• showering
• bed bathing
• shaving
• dressing, undressing and grooming
• toileting and the use of continence aids
• eating and drinking using appropriate feeding techniques
• oral hygiene
• mobility and transfer including in and out of vehicles and falls recovery techniques

3.5 Provide support or assistance with technical care  activities according to the personal care plan and organisation policies, protocols and procedures

3.6 Clarify difficulties in providing support to meet client needs with client and a supervisor and address within organisation protocols

3.7 Maintain confidentiality, privacy and dignity of the client with organisation policy and protocols

3.8 Perform work to the standard required by the organisation

4. Recognise and report changes in client health and/or personal support requirements

4.1 Identify variations in personal care support requirements and report  to supervisor

4.2 Work with person and supervisor to identify required changes to processes and aids

4.3 Identify variations and concerns about client's health

4.3 Report variations and concerns about client's health to the supervisor

5. Complete reporting and documentation

5.1 Comply with the organisation's reporting requirements , including reporting observations to supervisor

5.2 Complete documentation according to organisation policy and protocols

5.3 Maintain documentation in a manner consistent with reporting requirements

5.4 File documentation according to organisation policy and protocols

REQUIRED SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE 

This describes the essential skills and knowledge and their level required for this unit.

Essential knowledge :

The candidate must be able to demonstrate essential knowledge required to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include knowledge and understanding of:

• Understanding of own work role and responsibilities
• Processes and strategies to support people with personal care needs
• Basics of body hygiene and grooming
• Basics of oral hygiene
• Knowledge to interpret a personal care support plan, including terminology, basic understanding/knowledge of human body systems, goals, objectives, actions
• Personal safety and security risks associated with provision of personal care support
• Strategies to minimise personal safety and security risks associated with provision of personal care support
• Role of carers
• Common equipment and aids utilised in provision of personal care support
• Principles and practices of confidentiality and privacy
• Principles and practices in undertaking technical skills associated with supporting/ assisting people to meet personal care needs
• Significance of service setting including specific contexts of supporting personal care needs in a residential care setting and in a client's private home
• Occupational health and safety issues and procedures, (including those related to manual handling and infection control)

Essential skills :

It is critical that the candidate demonstrate the ability to:

• Follow organisation policies and protocols
• Liaise and report appropriately to supervisor and/or health professionals
• Make informed observations and report appropriately
• Adhere to own work role and responsibilities
• Obtain relevant information from a personal care support plan
• Provide physical and psychosocial support to the person when assisting with personal care needs
• Provide personal care support within the individual personal care context
• Respond to a client's personal preferences wherever appropriate
• Provide general hygiene and grooming including physical ability to:

• perform personal care tasks
• provide oral hygiene
• perform client lifting and use moving methods
• use aids and equipment

• Support a person's direction and participation in provision of personal care support
• Use processes, aids and equipment appropriately in provision of personal care support
• Communicate effectively with people requiring personal care support
• Identify variations to personal care support requirements
• Identify and respond to risks associated with providing personal care support
• Demonstrate safe and effective use of workplace technology in line with occupational health and safety (OHS) guidelines

Essential skills  (contd ):

In addition, the candidate must be able to effectively do the task outlined in elements and performance criteria of this unit, manage the task and manage contingencies in the context of the identified work role

These include the ability to:

• Apply reading and writing skills required to fulfil work role in a safe manner and as specified by the organisation/service:

• this requires a level of skill that enables the worker to follow work-related instructions and directions and the ability to seek clarification and comments from supervisors, clients and colleagues
• industry work roles will require workers to possess a literacy level that will enable them to interpret international safety signs, read client's service delivery plans, make notations in clients records and complete workplace forms and records

• Apply oral communication skills required to fulfil work role in a safe manner and as specified by the organisation:

• this requires a level of skill that enables the worker to follow work-related instructions and directions and the ability to seek clarification and comments from supervisors, clients and colleagues
• industry work roles will require workers to possess oral communication skills that will enable them to ask questions, clarify understanding, recognise and interpret non-verbal cues, provide information and express encouragement

• Apply numeracy skills required to fulfil work role in a safe manner and as specified by the organisation:

• industry work roles will require workers to be able to perform basic mathematical functions, such as addition and subtraction up to three digit numbers and multiplication and division of single and double-digit numbers

• Apply basic problem solving skills to resolve problems of limited difficulty within organisation protocols
• Work effectively with clients, colleagues and supervisors

EVIDENCE GUIDE 

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the Performance Criteria, Required Skills and Knowledge, the Range Statement and the Assessment Guidelines for this Training Package.

Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate this unit of competency :

• The individual being assessed must provide evidence of specified essential knowledge as well as skills
• It is recommended that assessment or information for assessment will be conducted or gathered over a period of time and cover the normal range of workplace situations and settings
• This unit must be assessed in a work context and under the normal range of workplace conditions
• Where, for reasons of safety, space, or access to equipment and resources, some assessment takes place away from the workplace, the assessment environment should represent workplace conditions as closely as possible

Access and equity considerations :

• All workers in community services should be aware of access, equity and human rights issues in relation to their own area of work
• All workers should develop their ability to work in a culturally diverse environment
• In recognition of particular issues facing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, workers should be aware of cultural, historical and current issues impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people
• Assessors and trainers must take into account relevant access and equity issues, in particular relating to factors impacting on Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander clients and communities

Context of and specific resources for assessment :

• This unit can be assessed independently, however holistic assessment practice with other community services units of competency is encouraged
• Resources required for assessment include access to:

• appropriate workplace where assessment can take place
• relevant organisation policy, protocols and procedures
• OHS industry guides
• health care checklists, health management plans, personal healthcare diaries
• equipment and resources normally used in the workplace

Method of assessment may include :

• Observation in the workplace
• Written assignments/projects
• Case study and scenario analysis
• Questioning
• Role play simulation

Related units :

This unit must be assessed in relation to the specific context in which it will (or may) be applied

In the case of working with older people, this unit is recommended (but not required) to be assessed in conjunction with:

• CHCAC318A Work effectively with older people

OR 

In the case of working with people with disabilities, it is recommended (but not required) to be assessed in conjunction with:

• CHCDIS301A Work effectively with people with a disability

RANGE STATEMENT 

The Range Statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Add any essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts.

Personal support context may include :

• People living in a residential care environment
• People living in the community
• Students in schools
• Involvement of carer

Individualised care support plan may include :

• A stand alone personal care plan
• Personal care aspects embedded in a wider individualised plan

Personal support requirements may include :

• Assisting with personal hygiene

• assisting with eating and drinking and use feeding techniques
• assisting with oral hygiene and health care
• assisting with toileting and use of continence aids
• bed bathing
• dressing and grooming including assisting with pressure stocking
• shaving
• showering
• elimination

• Hydration and nutrition including dysphagia
• Maintenance of skin integrity and pressure area prevention
• Mobility and transfer including in and out of vehicles and falls recovery techniques
• Monitoring medication as appropriate to work role
• Nail care
• Pain, rest and sleep
• Respiration
• Technical care activities according to the personal care support plan and organisation policies, protocols and procedures

Simple technical skills may include :

• Simple dressing
• Catheter care (not including insertion or removal of tubes)
• Application of prostheses
• Application of anti-thrombotic stockings
• Assistance with breathing tubes (under direct supervision of a health professional)
• Simple eye care

Potential impact may include :

• Embarrassment
• Fear
• Disempowerment
• Humiliation
• Discomfort

Equipment , processes and aids may include :

• Wheelchairs and other transport devices
• Mobility aids
• Lifting and transferring aids
• Beds
• Breathing devices
• Scales
• Continence aids
• Personal audio-visual aids
• Modified feeding aids

Situations of risk or potential risk , may include :

• Evidence of self-neglect
• Behaviours of concern
• Impaired judgement and problem solving abilities
• Impaired cognitive functioning
• Sudden or unexpected change in health status include sensory loss
• Home environmental hazards

• slippery or uneven floor surfaces
• physical obstructions (e.g. furniture and equipment)
• poor home maintenance
• poor or inappropriate lighting
• inadequate heating and cooling devices
• inadequate security

• Social rights infringements

Report may include :

• Verbal:

• telephone
• face-to-face

• Non-verbal (written):

• progress reports
• case notes
• hazard and incident reports
• care plans