Today’s society is characterized by the aging of the population and, consequently, the emergence of chronic and disabling diseases that require the presence of a health care provider to provide the necessary care.
The carer is a family member, or not, who, whether or not for a fee, takes care of the elderly person in the performance of his daily activities, such as nutrition, personal hygiene, routine medication, guidance to health services, with the exception of techniques or procedures that belong to the legally established professions. It concerns formal care (professional activity) where the care is usually provided by suitably qualified professionals, including doctors, nurses and social workers, who deserve the predicate formal care provider, as there is a specific preparation for the professional activity they are exercising.
According to the Social Security Institute’s Practical Guide (2011) on domestic services, a formal caregiver is a domestic helper insofar as “he/she regularly gives others (…) performs activities aimed at the satisfaction of a household (cooking, washing clothes, cleaning the house, caring for children or the elderly, taking care of the garden or animals, performing sewing services, etc. The main tasks of carers are: household tasks such as cleaning the house and taking care of clothes, cooking, administering medication, shopping in the house and supervising and supervising adults, namely supporting the care recipient in his individual needs (therapy, hygiene, mobility, eating…), keeping records of the activities and care provided to the care recipient, advising the family on topics such as nutrition and adaptation to the clinical situation, checking / planning medical appointments. It should be noted that, according to the literature, formal caregivers must possess certain gentle skills, such as ethics, professionalism, interpersonal relationship with the patient/family, empathy, punctuality and presence, discretion and active listening.