Sometimes the most powerful kind of care is simply being there. Our companionship care is all about connection — friendly, familiar faces to brighten the day, share in conversation and enjoy small but meaningful moments together.
Whether your loved one lives alone, feels isolated, or would just enjoy more company, our Care Professionals are here to lift spirits and create regular, genuine human contact.
What companionship care can include
- Friendly visits and conversation
- Help with hobbies or activities
- Walks in the garden or local area
- Games, reading and reminiscing
- Company for meals or outings
- Support with appointments or errands
Why it matters
Loneliness does real damage
Companionship is easy to treat as the soft option — the thing you book once the important care is arranged. In practice it's often the visit that changes the most. Someone who has spoken to nobody since Tuesday eats less, moves less and reports less, and the decline that follows is rarely put down to loneliness.
A regular visit from someone who remembers what you told them last week is not a luxury. It's frequently the difference between a person who is managing and a person who is quietly stopping.
Company, and whatever the day needs
There's no script. Some visits are a pot of tea and the crossword. Some are a walk, a trip to the shops, or getting to a club that stopped being manageable alone. Some are practical — a bit of tidying, a hand with the post, someone to sit with while a form gets filled in.
Because our Care Professionals are trained care staff rather than sitters, a companionship visit can quietly include the practical help that makes the difference, without it needing to be a separate booking.
- Conversation, hobbies, games and reminiscing
- Walks, outings and getting to clubs or church
- Company for meals, appointments and errands
- Light practical help around the house
- A regular, familiar face rather than a rotating one
The Otter Happy Hour
Every so often we put on an extra hour that nobody is billed for — the Otter Happy Hour. It exists to do the thing that never quite fits into a scheduled visit: a trip out to Longleat or a local farm, an afternoon with an old hobby, or simply going somewhere that matters to someone.
One lady asked to be taken up by the White Horse, to the spot where her husband's ashes had been scattered. Another had once helped at a local stable, so we took her back to see the horses. We pay for that time because care isn't only about safety and support. There are more of them on our real moments page.
What companionship care costs
Companionship is charged at the same visiting rates as any other care — £36 for a weekday hour, £31.75 for 45 minutes, £27.50 for half an hour, with no travel or call-out charge. If we drive you somewhere, mileage is 55p a mile and always agreed with you first.
It can also be funded the same ways as any other home care. The full rate card and the funding routes are on our costs and funding page.
Companionship questions
No — it's the same hourly rate. The person coming has the same training and the same DBS check, and often ends up helping with practical things too. What changes is what the hour is spent on, not what it costs.
Yes, and it's often the best use of the visit. Shops, appointments, a café, a club, church on a Sunday. If we drive, mileage is 55p a mile and agreed with you beforehand.
An extra hour we fund ourselves, so it costs you nothing, used for something that wouldn't fit in a normal visit — a trip out, an old hobby, a place that means something. Ask your Care Professional or ring the office.
We match on personality as much as availability — shared interests, temperament, whether someone wants conversation or quiet company. If it isn't clicking, tell us and we'll change it. Nobody should feel they have to make do.
Yes. Light tidying, laundry, a hand with post and forms, help preparing a meal. Our Care Professionals are trained care staff, so if personal care is needed later it doesn't mean starting again with someone new.
She is such a gentle and caring soul and has been a godsend for my parents. We all really appreciate having Pam in our lives.
Let's find the right care, together
A friendly voice, not a call centre.