Ask Sheila - Archive 
Sheila Scott OBE has now retired and therefore is no longer available to answer your social care questions. However, you might still find the answer you’ve been searching for down below.
Does helping someone put on a coat and get into a taxi mean I am delivering ‘personal care’?
Hi Sheila, could you confirm that helping an older person to put on an outer coat and helping them by the arm to get to a taxi would not be described as personal care. Having seen a previous answer of yours, these simple actions do not appear to be intimate.
Hi Dave,
Thank you for your question.
This is my opinion. Helping someone put on an overcoat or assisting them to get into a taxi is not personal care.
This is the Department of Health's definition of personal care:
"Personal Care includes: assistance with dressing, feeding, washing and toileting, as well as advice, encouragement and emotional and psychological support. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) defines this as attention required in connection with bodily functions."
I think that this answers your question.
Best wishes.
Sheila
*All information is correct at the time of publishing.
About Sheila
Sheila Scott OBE has now retired and over the years , prior to her retirement she has answered thousands of your social questions. You can still access the many questions below.
For Sheila Scott OBE as the former CEO of National Care Association (NCA), care is Sheila's life. She possesses a strong command of the issues facing the care sector informed by her long career as a nursing professional, the owner and manager of a care business, and as a leader in the care sector.
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