How to find a personal assistant carer

Two people with their personal assistant carers

A personal assistant (PA) carer can improve your independence.

You can choose who you want to support you (with some exceptions, please discuss this with your allocated worker). You can decide what you need them to do and when you need it, within the guidance of your adult care plan or children's short breaks plan.

If you would like DPSS to help you find a PA carer to directly employ, you can contact our Employment Services Team on 01603 223392 or email dpssemploymentservices@norfolk.gov.uk.

DPSS' preferred recruitment platform is ukcil.com. For our DPSS customers, this is a free service accessed by contacting the employment team. The employment team will create an account for you and send you a log in. Here you will be able to view candidates and invite them for interview, make a job offer and even download an employment contract. The employment team can be involved as much or as little as you like depending on your requirements.

If you are looking to engage services of a self-employed PA, the Norfolk Community Directory (NCD) is where you can search for a PA carer to help you who is self-employed. Some care agencies also advertise on the NCD (any care agencies who deliver personal care must be CQC registered).

DBS checks

A Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check helps you decide if a person is a suitable by giving you information about any criminal history.

An enhanced check will also tell you if that person is on a list of those barred from working with vulnerable adults and children. You must get an enhanced DBS check for anyone you recruit to work with children with a short breaks plan.

We can arrange a check for you and the cost will be covered by us. To arrange this contact the Direct Payment Customer Services Team (DPCST) on 01603 223392 or email DPSS_DBSdocuments@norfolk.gov.uk with the following details:

The PA's full name
The PA's National Insurance number
The PA's date of birth
The PA's email address
Your email address

The check will be carried out by DBS and a certificate will be sent to the proposed PA. It's very important that the PA shows you the original certificate.

If you have any concerns about any information on the DBS certificate, please contact Adult Services or the Short Breaks team to discuss. The GOV.UK website (opens new window) also has more information on DBS checks.

Training

You must consider any necessary training.

For example, if your personal assistant is responsible for lifting or moving you then they must have moving and handling training.

Find out more about the types of training available.