Loneliness is a health problem
It is easy to treat company as the soft end of care, the nice extra once the washing and the medication are sorted. It is not. Sustained loneliness is associated with worse outcomes across the board, and in practical terms an older person who sees nobody deteriorates faster and is noticed later when something goes wrong.
In London this is particularly acute. Families are spread across the country, neighbours change every two years, and someone can live in a busy street and go a week without speaking to anyone.
What companionship visits look like
Whatever the person wants them to look like. Some of what we do most often:
- Sitting and talking, over a cup of tea, without watching the clock
- Getting out of the house: the shops, the park, a café, the garden centre
- Going to appointments and remembering what the consultant actually said
- Hobbies that have lapsed because doing them alone stopped being enjoyable
- Cards, crosswords, photographs, music, reading the paper together
- Help with letters, forms and the phone calls that have piled up
- Keeping in touch with family, including the video calls that never quite work
- A meal cooked and eaten together rather than left in the fridge
The visit that notices things. A companion who comes weekly is often the first to spot that someone is unsteadier than last month, eating less, or getting confused about the day. That early warning is worth a great deal, and it only happens if it is the same person coming.
A way in for people who refuse care
Companionship is frequently how care starts in families where the idea of a carer has been flatly rejected. Someone will accept a person who comes for company and gives them a lift to the shops long before they will accept help with a bath. Once the relationship exists, personal care becomes a conversation rather than a confrontation.
Where the concern is safety rather than sociability, our sit-in service covers someone being present so a person is not left alone.
Questions families ask
How long is a companionship visit?
Usually an hour or two, because much less than that is not really company. Some clients have a weekly half-day and an outing.
Can the carer take my mother out in a car?
Trips out are a normal part of companionship visits. Tell us at the assessment what you have in mind and we will confirm what we can arrange.
Will it be someone she has something in common with?
We try hard on this, because it is the whole service. Interests, temperament and language all matter. If the match is not working, tell us and we will change it. Nobody should have to make polite conversation with someone they do not click with.
Can we combine companionship with practical help?
Yes, and most people do. A visit that includes a bit of housework, a cooked meal and an hour of conversation is very common.
Talk it through with Jackie
No call centre and no obligation. Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.