Personal hygiene is fundamental to health, comfort, and dignity, but physical limitations, illness, or aging can make these intimate tasks difficult or impossible to manage independently. Our trained support workers provide respectful, gentle assistance with personal hygiene, helping you feel clean, comfortable, and confident-while always maintaining your dignity and respecting your privacy.
We understand that accepting help with personal care can feel uncomfortable or embarrassing. Our team approaches personal care with sensitivity, professionalism, and genuine caring, helping you maintain the personal hygiene standards important to you.
Why Personal Hygiene Support Matters
Have questions?
Your local team of Client Care Managers are available to answer your questions and work with you to design a customized plan of care that is right for you.
Our Personal Hygiene Services
Toileting Assistance:
Supporting safe toilet transfers, assistance with clothing, maintaining cleanliness, managing incontinence products if needed, ensuring dignity and privacy, hand hygiene after toileting.
Continence Care:
Assisting with incontinence pads or briefs, ensuring cleanliness and skin care, preventing skin breakdown, respectful dignified assistance, coordinating with continence nurse if needed.
Hand and Face Washing:
Assistance washing hands and face, ensuring thorough cleanliness, supporting independence where possible, maintaining routine hygiene.
Oral Hygiene:
Assistance with teeth brushing or denture care, mouth care for those unable to manage independently, ensuring good oral hygiene, supporting dental health.
Hair Care:
Hair washing assistance, hair brushing or combing, basic hair styling, maintaining clean healthy hair, coordinating hairdresser visits if desired.
Skin Care:
Moisturizing dry skin, checking skin condition, applying prescribed creams or ointments, preventing pressure areas, maintaining skin health and comfort.
Dressing and Undressing:
Assistance putting on or removing clothing, choosing appropriate clothing, ensuring comfort and dignity, supporting independence with adaptive techniques.
Menstrual Care:
For women still menstruating, respectful assistance with menstrual hygiene, ensuring cleanliness and comfort, maintaining dignity.
Our Approach to Personal Care
Continence Care Support
What to Expect from Personal Hygiene Support
First Visit:
Getting to know you and your preferences, understanding your hygiene routines, discussing level of assistance needed, respecting your modesty and dignity, establishing trust and comfort, planning care approach together.
Regular Visits:
Scheduled according to your needs (daily, multiple times daily, or as needed). Each visit typically includes assistance with toileting if needed, personal hygiene care as planned, respectful dignified approach, supporting your independence, ensuring cleanliness and comfort, documenting care provided.
Building Relationship:
Over time, you’ll likely feel more comfortable with your regular support worker, trust builds with consistency, many clients develop comfort and rapport, we maintain professionalism while being warm and caring.
Assess Abilities:
Understanding what you can do independently, identifying where assistance is needed, recognizing abilities change day to day, being flexible in our support.
Encourage Participation:
Supporting you to do what you can, providing assistance where needed, using adaptive techniques and equipment, building confidence and ability.
Equipment and Aids:
Supporting use of grab rails, raised toilet seats, shower chairs, or other aids, helping coordinate equipment if needed, teaching safe use of equipment.
Skills Teaching:
If you’re recovering abilities, we support relearning skills, encourage gradual independence, celebrate progress, adjust support as you improve.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Gratifying Care is proud to committed to offer the best possible answers to all your questions. We have compiled a list of few questions that have been repeatedly asked to us.
I feel embarrassed about needing personal care help. Is this normal?
Absolutely normal. Most people feel uncomfortable initially about personal care assistance. Our support workers understand and approach care with sensitivity and professionalism. Many clients tell us they felt worried at first but quickly became comfortable. Your dignity is our priority.
Can I have a same-gender support worker?
Yes, wherever possible. We understand many people prefer same-gender support for personal care, especially for intimate tasks. We coordinate our team to respect this preference. Let us know your preference and we’ll arrange appropriately.
What if I need help during the night?
We provide both daytime / night care services. For overnight personal care needs, we can discuss options of offering overnight support. Some funding types may cover overnight care.
Will it be the same person each time?
Wherever possible, yes. Continuity is especially important for personal care. Having the same support worker helps you feel comfortable and builds trust. We minimize changes, though occasionally staff leave or scheduling requires a different worker.
What if I have an “accident” between visits?
This happens and is completely normal. If you need us to come for an unscheduled visit, call and we’ll arrange this if possible. We never make anyone feel bad about incontinence-it’s a health issue we’re here to help manage with dignity.
Can you help with catheter care?
Basic catheter care (emptying bags, keeping clean) can be provided by support workers. For catheter changes or clinical catheter care, you’d need our Registered Nurses. We coordinate between support workers and nurses as needed.
How do you maintain my privacy?
We close doors and ensure privacy, drape or cover you appropriately, only expose areas being cared for, never discuss your care with others (confidentiality), treat you with respect at all times, work professionally and sensitively.
What if I want to manage some hygiene myself?
Excellent! We support your independence. Many people manage some tasks themselves and need assistance with others. We provide help only where needed, encourage your participation, adjust our support to your abilities.
Can my spouse stay in the room during personal care?
Yes, if you’d like that and feel comfortable. Many couples prefer this. Whatever makes you most comfortable is fine with us.
How much does personal hygiene support cost?
Costs depend on your funding. Support at Home Program: Covered by government funding. Home Care Packages: Included in package budget. NDIS: Covered if approved in plan. DVA: Covered for eligible veterans. Private: Charged by hour. Contact us to discuss costs.
Medical Disclaimer
The information on this page is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Our Disability Support Services are delivered by qualified Disability Support Workers / Community Support Workers / Support Workers / Community Workers. They work within their scope of practice and in coordination with your doctor and healthcare team. Always consult your GP or specialist about your specific health needs and treatment. Our services complement but do not replace medical care from your doctor.