Companionship care is a form of home care where a trained companion visits your loved one at home for regular time together, focused on emotional and practical support rather than personal or medical care. The companion might prepare meals, play games, go for a walk, have a friendly chat, or simply provide company, whatever your loved one enjoys.
Companionship care can help with:
Visits can last from a few hours to a full day, or be arranged as live-in care for round-the-clock company. Many families begin with just a few hours of companionship each week; others opt for daily support. It's one of the most flexible companionship care services available in the UK.
If your loved one has seemed more withdrawn lately, is dealing with loneliness, living alone since bereavement, seeing family members less often, or finding it harder to get out and about, companionship care can help.
Companionship care isn't about practical or clinical tasks. It's regular time with someone who genuinely listens, offering friendly companionship and social support that becomes part of your loved one's daily life.
This guide covers what our companionship care involves, the benefits for physical and mental health, what a companion carer typically does, the costs involved, and how to arrange it for your loved one.
Companionship care is a form of home care that focuses on emotional support and social connection rather than practical or clinical tasks. It's one of several companionship services families consider when a loved one starts to feel isolated. A trained companion carer visits your loved one in their own home for regular company, whether that's a couple of visits a week or a live-in caring companion for full-time support.
Unlike personal care, which covers washing, dressing, and toileting, companionship care is non-medical and focuses on emotional support. In short, it's non-medical support built around connection. What happens during a visit depends on what your loved one enjoys, from meaningful conversations to sharing meals.
Companionship care may incorporate light practical assistance with daily tasks. Typical visits might include:
Companionship care should involve the same carer each visit. This continuity of care improves the effectiveness of companionship. When the same person visits regularly, they can build a genuine friendship with your loved one over time.
Some families arrange just a few hours of support a week; others prefer more support, particularly if their loved one is largely independent but misses company. Companionship care includes shared meals and conversation above all, the small, regular moments that add up to real quality of life.
A companion for the elderly does a wide range of things, from practical help around the home to company and conversation. Unlike a personal care worker, who focuses on physical care, or a nurse, who handles clinical tasks, a companion carer focuses on being present in whatever way your loved one wants, whether that's a few hours a week of paid companionship or visits every day.
A typical visit might include:
What a companion typically doesn't do:
The specific tasks your loved one's companion does depend on their individualised care plan and preferences. The professional care team creates this plan with input from your loved one and family.
Regular company touches almost every part of your loved one's wellbeing, not just their social life. Here's what tends to change once companionship care is in place:
Loneliness is one of the biggest challenges facing older adults in the UK. According to Age UK, over one million older people go a month without speaking to anyone.
Research from the World Health Organization links long-term loneliness to a higher risk of heart disease, stroke, depression, and cognitive decline. Companionship care reduces social isolation, easing the loneliness in older people that too often goes unnoticed. It's one of the most effective ways to combat loneliness day to day.
Regular companion visits support emotional wellbeing in ways occasional family visits can't, providing a presence to look forward to each week.
This matters especially when an older person is dealing with bereavement, retirement, or family living far away. Companionship care can help reduce anxiety and depression, since it focuses on emotional support and social interaction above all.
Companion visits often gently encourage activity that wouldn't otherwise happen. A walk to the park is more likely with company. By encouraging physical activity, companionship care helps maximise older people's mobility. Engagement in social activities also promotes cognitive function among older people. Small, regular activities, like a game of cards or a trip to the garden centre, keep both body and mind engaged. This can help your loved one in staying connected to their community and support their continued independence at home.
Family carers, especially those living far away, often carry ongoing worry about an older person living alone. Companionship care can alleviate stress for families by providing oversight for their loved ones.
A good companion care service provides feedback after visits, so you know how your loved one is doing.
The combination of reduced loneliness, better mental wellbeing, more activity, and family peace of mind adds up to something bigger than any single benefit. Companionship care aims to maximise the quality of life for elderly people through the small pleasures of connection in later life.
Is companionship care suitable for your loved one? It can help many older adults, and it's often worth arranging before things reach a crisis point. Over one million older people in England go a month without speaking to anyone, and the small signs of loneliness are easy to miss.
Common signs your loved one might benefit from companionship care:
Companionship care is non-medical and reduces social isolation and is best arranged as prevention rather than a reaction to crisis. If your loved one needs medical support rather than company, start with their GP for advice.
Companionship care and personal care are both types of care for the elderly, but they meet very different needs.
Personal care includes assistance with bathing, dressing, and medication routines, alongside mobility support and help with complex needs, delivered by an expertly trained personal care worker.
Companionship care, by contrast, offers social and emotional support through conversation and shared activities like games, reading, walks, and outings, and is delivered by a companion carer. The focus is friendship and emotional health rather than hands-on support with physical tasks.
In practice, many home care visits combine both. A visit that starts with getting dressed often continues with a cup of tea and a chat, and companionship care can transition to personal care as needs change.
After a hospital discharge or surgery, companionship care can help your loved one recover, alongside post-operative care at home, which handles the practical side of recuperation. Recovery is easier with regular company and someone checking in.
How companion visits can help during recovery:
Companion visits don't cover clinical tasks like wound care, which is for district nurses, or physiotherapy, though a companion can encourage exercises set by a physiotherapist. This support often works well alongside NHS district nursing visits.
The companionship care cost in the UK varies depending on several factors:
As a general guide, visiting care starts at around £32.40 per hour plus a £4.50 per-visit call-out fee, rising to £38 an hour depending on provider and location, and live-in care typically runs from around £900 to £1,600 a week, according to industry-wide data from the Homecare Association and homecare.co.uk. These are national ranges, not Tiggo Care's own confirmed rates.
With a CQC-regulated provider, the hourly rate covers more than the companion's time. It also covers training, DBS checks, insurance, and cover when your regular companion is unavailable.
Beyond self-funding, several care funding options can help:
Costs depend on your loved one's needs and location. For a personalised care plan and tailored costing, contact Tiggo Care.
Arranging companionship care usually starts with a conversation about what your loved one might enjoy in everyday life.
Step 1: Talk to your loved one. Some are enthusiastic; others are hesitant. It can help to frame it as a friend visiting rather than "care".
Step 2: Consider what they'd enjoy, whether that's card games, walks, reading, or talking about the past, to help match them with the right companion.
Step 3: Speak to their GP for advice, including whether other support, such as personal care, might help too.
Step 4: Choose companionship care regulated by the Care Quality Commission, ideally from a provider offering the same carer rather than a rota of strangers. Ask about backup cover for when the regular carer is unavailable
Step 5: Arrange a needs assessment from your local authority. A needs assessment is essential before starting care services, and it's usually free.
Step 6: Agree on a personalised care plan, created by the care team with your loved one and family.
Step 7: Start with a trial and see how your loved one finds the support.
Tiggo Care provides companionship care at home across London with companions who are trained, DBS-checked, and employed directly by us.
Tiggo Care provides companionship care across London, working with families in areas including Chelsea, Kensington, Fulham, Wandsworth, Chiswick, Notting Hill, Ealing, Battersea, Wimbledon, Putney, and Richmond.
As a general guide, visiting companionship care in London ranges from £26 to £38 per hour, reflecting London's higher cost of care compared with much of the rest of the UK.
All Tiggo Care companionship carers are:
Wherever possible, we arrange for the same carer to visit your loved one each week, building a real relationship. If your regular companion is unavailable, we arrange cover with someone your loved one already knows.
To arrange companionship care in London, contact Tiggo Care for a free consultation.
Companionship care can make a real difference for elderly people who feel isolated, lonely, or simply miss regular company. Whether your loved one needs a weekly visit or more support throughout the week, the right companion carer, part of Tiggo Care's wider person-centred care, can become a genuinely positive part of their life.
Tiggo Care is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), so our services are regularly inspected to ensure they're safe, effective, caring, responsive, and well-led. We're also proud members of the Homecare Association, and recognised by homecare.co.uk and Age UK as a leading home care provider in London. If you're looking for companionship care for the elderly, contact Tiggo Care today to arrange a free consultation for your loved one.
Chris Williams is the Founder and Managing Director ofTiggo Care, an award-winning London home care provider that supports adults living in their own homes. He founded Tiggo Care after struggling to find suitable care for his parents, both of whom lived with rare diseases, giving him first-hand experience of the challenges families can face when arranging personalised home care. Chris studied Human Sciences and Epidemiology at Oxford University and previously worked at Kearney and Oxford Sciences Enterprises.
Companionship care is a form of home care where a trained companion visits your loved one at home for regular time together. They focus on emotional support and social interaction rather than practical tasks like bathing or dressing. A companion carer can also offer support with light household tasks, such as meal preparation.
A companion focuses on being present in whatever way your loved one wants: conversation, games, walks, shared meals, and accompanying appointments. Companions don't carry out personal care or clinical tasks; those are for personal care workers or nurses.
Yes. Visits can be especially valuable for people with dementia, offering regular reassurance and gentle stimulation alongside any dementia care they already receive. The same carer visiting regularly tends to work best.
Costs vary by location, provider, and visit length, with London typically more expensive. Attendance Allowance and PIP may help. For a personalised care package and tailored costing, contact our friendly team for a free consultation.
Start with a conversation with your loved one, then find a CQC-regulated provider and arrange a needs assessment. Together you'll agree on a personalised care plan. Many providers, including Tiggo Care, offer a trial period.
Befriending services, like Silver Line and Age UK's programmes, are usually free and run by volunteers, sometimes with a rotation of visitors. Companionship care through a provider like Tiggo Care is a paid, professional service with the same companion visiting regularly.
Get in touch with Tiggo Care today to see how we can help you or your loved one.
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