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What is companionship care?
Companionship care at home is when a professional carer comes and lives with you in your home to provide you with round-the-clock companionship, care and support so you can live well with choice and dignity.
Your companion carer will focus on helping you to live independently, doing all the things you used to with highly personalised and flexible companionship care. For many, it is the company that matters – a listening and sympathetic ear, a person to share thoughts and feelings with, someone to help us feel reassured or to build our confidence in how we live our lives. For others, it is about having someone there on hand as and when you need them. Companionship care at home can really help to reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation experienced in later life.
Home is best for companionship care
At The Good Care Group, we have enabled people who require company and companionship to live a fulfilled and purposeful life in the comfort of their own homes for over 10 years. Our live-in companionship care means you can live well with the right level of care and support – and all in the place you love best, your own home. A dedicated companion can really spend time getting to know you and how you wish to live your life – then offer the one-to-one company, care and support you need so that life has more meaning. This approach simply cannot be achieved in even the very best care home where carers are sharing their time between several residents.
Who can benefit from companionship care?
There are many circumstances in which a person’s life could be enriched through our companionship care services:
If you or a loved one are currently living on your own
If you live on your own, there may be times when you find yourself lonely even if you have regular friends and family visiting. Having companionship care services in the home means you have someone there no matter the time of day to provide company and emotional support. A professional companion carer can help alleviate feelings of isolation or loneliness by providing you with friendly conversation or simply someone to enjoy daily aspects of life with, like eating a meal or watching the television.
Family caregivers who need some respite
Millions of people across the UK are currently providing care and support for their ageing loved ones. Balancing their carer duties with the day-to-day responsibilities of everyday life leaves many family caregivers feeling stressed, tired or worn out. The flexibility of companionship care allows family caregivers to receive a much-needed break so they can rest and recharge and return to their care duties feeling reinvigorated – all while knowing an experienced and compassionate carer is looking after their loved one.
Older adults looking to become more active and independent
Companionship carers are not there to impose or take over but rather to encourage and accompany you in living a more active and enjoyable life. From encouraging your hobbies to accompanying you to visit friends or taking trips into your local community, your companion carer is there to help you engage in your favourite activities and live a more enriching life.
If you need support and encouragement after a fall, illness or injury
People living with ongoing or complex health conditions are often at greater risk of experiencing feelings of anxiety, loneliness or depression. Mobility or frailty concerns brought on by a fall, illness or injury can make it difficult to visit family, friends, or the places you love in your local community. A companion carer can not only provide practical day-to-day support but they can also become a source of encouragement and emotional support when you need it most.
What does a companionship service include?
Our high quality live-in companionship services at home which we provide to elderly people and young adults includes:
A trusted and dedicated companion
A perfectly matched care team is there to provide all the companionship you need – as and when you need it. This can involve simply providing company, facilitating and taking part in activities, helping you to maintain hobbies, going away with you on holiday or driving and chaperoning you to appointments or social events. Whilst the carer will be on hand to provide all your companionship needs, they will also use discretion and be very aware when you need your own space.
Social and emotional support
A care plan will outline all your social interests and preferences and the carer will help you to maintain all your activities and hobbies, both in and out of your home. Your carer will provide you with companionship support and help you to continue to feel connected to your family, friends and local community facilitating any social events or gatherings you wish to host or attend.
Medications administration and management
The carer is trained to proactively and efficiently administer medications to ensure your optimum health and wellbeing.
Meal planning and cooking
Your companion will help you to plan your meals according to your dietary requirements, nutritional needs and personal preferences, including cooking your favourite meals and shopping for
your groceries.
Domestic and household support
A professional carer will ensure your cleaning regime and domestic household tasks are maintained, so you can live-in your home the way you always have. The carer will help with household administration and will be happy to run errands out of the home.
Companion assisted care
Personal care or companion assisted care is a broad term used for several tasks to help you maintain your personal hygiene and appearance, including washing, dressing, grooming and toileting. Whilst companionship care is focused on providing company and reassurance, your carer will be trained to deliver personal care should you need it.
Hobbies and holidays
With the support of a carer, an illness or injury doesn’t have to stop you from doing what you love. Your carer can either drive you or accompany you in taking part in any activities you enjoy, including attending social groups, classes or hobbies. They can even accompany you on holidays in the UK and abroad so that you can get the most out of the experience.
Case study: Companionship care at home
At The Good Care Group, our professional live-in carers provide all our clients with companionship, whilst delivering the required care package. However, in some circumstances, our clients only require companionship from a professional live-in carer, as they do not have any additional care needs. Companionship care is ideal for clients who, due to certain circumstances, are now living alone, like Marjorie.
Marjorie's husband had recently been transferred to a nursing home after his care needs became more complex. Marjorie and her husband had shared many happy years together in their family home, and now with him living away Marjorie had begun to feel lonely.
Marjorie has always been active, going on short road trips to her local shopping centres and other places of interest. She is also a very sociable person who loves sharing her memories of playing sports, living in Glasgow and raising her children. Without her husband as a companion within the home, Majorie had no one to share these memories with until her professional live-in carer arrived.
Marjorie now has the companionship she greatly missed when her husband moved into the residential nursing home. This has lifted her mood and improved her overall well-being. In addition, Marjorie now has care in place to support her if her needs change later in life.
If you know of someone whose circumstances have changed and are now living alone, contact The Good Care Group to discuss our companionship care package.
Why choose The Good Care Group?
We have been providing high quality, live-in care to families in England and Scotland for over 10 years. At the heart of our award-winning service is enabling people to live independently in their own home with an improved quality of life. Our approach to care at home means our clients can achieve improved health and well-being. For families they benefit from peace of mind and reassurance that their loved one is receiving the very best care and support.
A perfectly matched care team
A live-in care service usually involves two carers working a two-week rotation. They will be carefully matched to work with you and your family. We make sure they are skilled and equipped to meet all your care and support needs. Our focus on matching means the care team chosen shares common interests and backgrounds. We know this means life is enjoyable for everyone. Your care team really gets to know you and your needs, which means you get consistency of care.
Expertly trained carers
All our professional carers are required to complete our leading training programme before they care for our clients. Our programme has been created with leading charities and clinical experts. It goes beyond mandatory requirements in the care sector. Carers are then equipped to provide high-quality care and support for those living with specialist conditions. Our carers never stop learning new skills to further enhance the care they provide.
Continuity of care
Unlike an agency, we employ our carers. This means they are committed to us, as we are to them. Carers enjoy the security of being employed, which means they stay with us longer. Those who work for agencies move around more. For families, this means that you get continuity and consistency of the same care team caring for your loved one. This means high-quality care can be achieved with improved outcomes and no disruption to your loved one’s life.
In-house clinical experts
We have a dedicated team of in-house clinical experts. This includes a specialist consultant nurse, who also provides Admiral Nurse services to those living with dementia. Our management team consists of nursing professionals. They guide our carers to provide safe and effective nurse-led care at home. We also have our own in-house Occupational Therapist (OT) who works closely with healthcare professionals and our care teams. Our OT provides guidance and advice that enables people to live well in their own home with any equipment they may need. These experts lead, monitor and support our care teams to deliver best-practice nurse-led care at home.
Innovative care technology
Unlike any other live-in care provider, we have our own online care community. Families, healthcare professionals and carers can access up-to-date information about the care being provided. It enables more effective monitoring, which means issues can be responded to efficiently. For our families, it provides a reassuring window into the care their loved one is receiving. Our carers also use the online community to share ideas and support each other. It provides a vital connection which is important when remote working. Carers will use the online community so their clients can enjoy time online. This includes video calls with family, so they feel connected. Clients can use it to shop online or browse the web.
Improving health outcomes
Every decision we make is driven by delivering improved health outcomes for our clients. Our digital technology allows us to predict risk and shape the care we provide. We measure health outcomes.
We want to know we are improving the quality of our clients’ lives every year.
Our health and well-being aim to reduce:
- Behaviours that may challenge
- Antipsychotic drugs in dementia care
- Falls in the home
- Hospital admissions
- Readmission to hospital
- Urinary tract infections (UTIs)
- Chest infections
- Carer stress
They aim to promote:
- Independence
- Well-being
- Excellent nutrition and hydra
- Enjoyment in life
Highest service rating from care regulators in England and Scotland
Unlike introduction agencies, we are fully regulated in England and Scotland. This means the care and support we provide is regularly inspected. We are the only dedicated live-in care provider in England to achieve an ‘Outstanding’ rating by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). We have achieved this rating in all five measures – safe, effective, caring, responsive and well-led. In Scotland, our service has been inspected by the Care Inspectorate (CI). It has achieved the highest rating of a 6 (Excellent) for quality of care and support and 5 (very good) for staffing, management and leadership. We know this provides families with peace of mind that their loved one is receiving the best possible care.
A fully managed service
Families benefit from our fully managed, companion home care service delivered by care experts. This means you do not need to worry about supervising and managing the carer looking after your loved one. Our professional carers are supervised by an experienced care manager and supported by clinical experts. We provide this support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Your dedicated care manager will be on hand to support you, your loved one and our carer teams. We invest in our care management team to ensure they have enough time to give the support everyone needs. With our fully managed service, families do not have the burden of managing the care arrangement themselves. We know this means families can have peace of mind, whilst enjoying quality time with their loved ones. They do not have to worry about the tasks of caring.
Local teams with national coverage
We operate throughout England and Scotland with a local approach to management of our teams near you. Each dedicated care manager local to you has only a small number of clients to support. This means they can provide higher levels of monitoring and support than other home companion care providers. It also means a highly personalised approach to care can be delivered.
Costs of companionship care
The cost of care for people wishing to receive live-in companionship care at home service is often cheaper than the total cost of domiciliary care at home. When a person is receiving hourly companionship care, provided by a domiciliary care provider it is likely that you will be charged extras for additional services to support the person’s specific care needs should your care and support needs increase, for example, dementia or Parkinson’s, on top of the cost of a carer visiting. These extras add up and can become costly over time and may exceed that of an inclusive live-in care service.
Companionship care at home is typically in line with – and sometimes less than – what you would pay for residential care, with the added benefit of receiving one-to-one tailored care and companionship, something that cannot be achieved in a care home.
For couples, the cost of companionship care at home is cheaper than moving into residential care where you would be expected to pay for two bedrooms and packages of care. With live-in care there is only a nominal charge for couples’ care.
How to arrange a companionship care service near me?
If you get in touch with us, you can speak to a dedicated care advisor who will answer any questions you may have and provide any information you need to make the right decision.
We will then arrange a no-obligation home meeting with you and your loved one to discuss their needs and how we will match the perfect professional carer for you so we can then ensure we get the right team and care package in place.
Talk to us about private companions for the elderly
We are experts in providing fully managed and high-quality live-in companionship services rated ‘Outstanding’ in all areas by CQC. Call our friendly and approachable team today to see how we can help you and your family.