Domestic Support
Cleaning, laundry and shopping alongside the company.
Companionship Care in Derbyshire and Staffordshire
Regular company, conversation and trips out, from someone matched on interests rather than availability. Previously our sitting service, across Derbyshire and Staffordshire.
CQC rated Good. Matched on interests. Free home assessment, no obligation.
CQC rated Good
Regulated, inspected and open about our report
Matched on interests
Not just whoever is free that afternoon
The same companion
Week after week, so it becomes a friendship
Free home assessment
No obligation, at a time that suits you
Company, and a reason to get out of the house
Someone can be managing perfectly well with cooking, washing and the house, and still go four days without a proper conversation with anybody.
Companionship care is time with someone who is genuinely interested. A cup of tea and the crossword, a lift to the garden centre, a walk, or a hand with a hobby that has been put away for a while.
It also means someone is looking in regularly, which is a good deal of reassurance for a family who live too far away to call round. Many of our companionship visits start as a sitting service covering a few hours and grow from there.
What companionship care includes
Visits are built around what the person actually enjoys. They usually include:
- Regular visits at the same time each week, for company and conversation
- Hobbies and interests, games, puzzles, reading, knitting, music
- Trips out to the shops, a cafe, the garden centre or the park
- Lifts and company to appointments, clubs and places of worship
- Support to keep going to groups they already belong to
- Staying in touch with family by phone or video call
- Encouragement with short walks and staying active
- Light help with a snack or drink during the visit
- A sitting service so a family carer can go out for a few hours
- A quiet eye on general wellbeing, with anything different reported to you
Being clear about what this is
Companionship care is company and practical help during a visit. It is not personal care, and it is not a substitute for it.
What we do not cover
- Washing, dressing or continence support
- Medication administration
- Moving and handling
- Nursing tasks
- Heavy cleaning
If any of those are needed, personal care is the right service, and the two are often combined so the same team covers both.
If they say they do not need it
Most people refuse this the first time it is suggested, and usually for the same reason. Being offered company sounds like being told you are lonely, and nobody wants that.
What tends to work is not mentioning company at all. Ask for help with the practical thing instead. Someone to drive them to the garden centre. A hand with the big shop. Company at a hospital appointment so they are not sitting there alone.
Start with an hour or two, once a week, described as a favour to you rather than help for them. In our experience the conversation is what people come to look forward to, and by then it is not up for debate any more.
Who companionship care suits
Living alone
Managing well, but going days without a proper conversation.
Recently widowed
Where the house has gone quiet and routines have gone.
Given up driving
Where getting out has quietly stopped being possible.
Family living far away
Where regular eyes on a parent would settle everyone's mind.
Matched on more than availability
A companion who has nothing in common with the person they are visiting will be perfectly pleasant and it will never quite work. So we match on interests, temperament and background, and we ask what someone actually likes before we suggest anybody.
Tell us at the assessment what they enjoy, what they used to do, what they will talk about for an hour without noticing, and whether they would prefer a man or a woman.
- Gardening
- Football
- Cricket
- Knitting and sewing
- Baking
- Crosswords and puzzles
- Music
- History
- Films
- Birdwatching
- Cars
- Faith and church
- Family history
- Card games
If the match is not right, tell us and we will change it. Nobody should be politely putting up with an hour a week.
How we deliver companionship care
Matched, not allocated
Chosen on interests and temperament, changed if it is not right.
The same face every week
What turns a visit into something looked forward to.
A quiet eye on wellbeing
Anything different gets mentioned to you, not left for a review.
Local team
Derby based, so visits happen on time.
What a typical visit looks like
Your companion arrives at the same time each week, puts the kettle on and asks how the week has been. No checklist, no clipboard.
What happens next is whatever suits that day. A trip out if the weather is decent, the crossword if not, a job that has been nagging, or the shopping. If a family carer is going out, the visit is cover so they can.
Before leaving they mention anything worth flagging and confirm next week's time.
Why families choose us
We ask before we suggest
Nobody is allocated on availability alone.
Visits long enough to matter
Most people find two hours works better than one.
CQC rated Good
Regulated and inspected, with the report published in full.
Local team
Derby based, so visits happen on time.
Services that often work alongside this
Personal Care
When help with washing and dressing becomes the next step.
Respite Care
Longer cover so a family carer gets a proper break.
Talk to us about companionship
Tell us a little about the person and a care advisor will call you back within one working day. If they are not sure about the idea yet, say so, and we will suggest how to start small.
03330 529 800- Monday to Friday:
- 9:00am to 5:00pm
- Saturday:
- 9:00am to 1:00pm
- Sunday:
- Closed
Request a callback
Common questions about companionship care
Is this the same as a sitting service?
Yes, it is what we used to call our sitting service. The name changed because company, conversation and getting out are the point, not simply sitting in.
What is the shortest visit you offer?
An hour is rarely long enough to do much more than arrive, so most people find two hours works better.
Can the carer take my mum out in a car?
Yes, subject to what is agreed at your assessment. We confirm how driving works and what is covered before any trips are planned.
Will it be the same companion every week?
That is the aim, and it is scheduled deliberately. Familiarity is most of what makes this service work.
Can visits include help with meals or the house?
Light help during the visit, yes. Anything more is domestic support or personal care, and both can be added.
What if my dad says he does not want it?
Very common. Start with something practical he does want, an hour a week, and let it grow. Happy to talk it through with you first.
Can we book it while we are away?
Yes. Longer or overnight cover is respite care, and the same companion can often provide it.
Talk to us about companionship
If someone you love is spending too much time alone, an hour or two a week can change the shape of their week. The assessment is free.
Office hours Monday to Friday. Out of hours support for existing clients.
