Written and reviewed by the Oath Healthcare care team · CQC-regulated provider · Last reviewed: 11 June 2026
“Dad doesn’t really need care. He just gets lonely.” If you’ve found yourself defending the request to a sibling or a friend, you’re not alone. Companionship care — sometimes called companion care, or “befriending care” — is the most underrated service in UK home care. It’s not about washing or dressing. It’s about loneliness, which the NHS now formally classifies as a health risk on par with smoking 15 cigarettes a day.
This is the UK 2026 guide to companion care: what it actually involves, what it costs, who it suits, and how to choose someone you’d trust to spend time with your mum or dad. Plain English, real prices, no marketing fluff.
Quick answer: Companionship care (also called companion care) is non-personal-care home support focused on social interaction, mental wellbeing, light household help, and getting out of the house. UK 2026 prices: from £25/hour for visits, with most families booking 2–4 hours, 1–3 times per week. CQC-regulated providers must still meet the same standards as personal care. Free assessment with Oath Healthcare — call 01223 755887.
What is companionship care?
Companion care (or companionship care) is home care that doesn’t focus on personal care like washing, dressing, or medication. It focuses instead on the things older people often miss most: someone to talk to, someone to walk to the shops with, someone to play cards with on a wet Tuesday afternoon, someone to drive them to a grandchild’s school play.
The typical companion-care visit looks like this:
- Coming in, putting the kettle on, sitting down for a proper conversation
- Going through the post together — helping with anything that needs a reply
- A short walk if the weather allows, or a drive to a local café
- Help with shopping, or a trip to the chemist for a prescription
- Light household help — emptying the dishwasher, watering plants, ironing
- Sitting down for a meal together (the carer prepares it; they eat together)
- An afternoon at the garden centre, the library, or a community group
- Helping with a Zoom call to a grandchild abroad
What it isn’t: it isn’t medical care, it isn’t personal care, and it isn’t supervision in the sense of dementia monitoring. People who need help with washing, dressing, medication or mobility need domiciliary care — possibly alongside companionship hours. People with dementia need specialist dementia care, where the social interaction is part of the therapeutic plan rather than the whole service.
Who is companion care for?
The most common companion-care clients in 2026 fall into one of these groups:
- Recently bereaved older adults — particularly in the first 6–12 months after losing a spouse, when isolation is most acute
- People whose family lives far away — children abroad, or in a different part of the UK, who can’t visit weekly
- Older adults with reduced mobility who can no longer drive to the social activities they used to enjoy
- People recently discharged from hospital who don’t need clinical care but shouldn’t be sitting on their own all day
- Early-stage dementia or memory issues where structured social time is part of staying mentally active
- Family carers who need their loved one occupied while they go out to work or run errands
Loneliness is not a trivial issue. Public Health England data shows that severe loneliness in older adults increases the risk of dementia by 40%, heart disease by 29%, and early death by 26%. Companion care is, quite literally, preventative healthcare.
Companion care vs domiciliary care vs befriending
| Companion care | Domiciliary (personal) care | Volunteer befriending | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Includes washing, dressing, medication? | No | Yes | No |
| CQC-regulated? | Yes (if from registered provider) | Yes | No |
| DBS-checked? | Yes | Yes | Sometimes |
| Trained carers? | Yes | Yes | Volunteers |
| Same person each visit? | Usually | Usually | Often varies |
| Insurance for transport? | Yes | Yes | Often no |
| Typical UK cost | From £25/hour | From £25/hour | Free |
Volunteer befriending (through charities like Age UK or Independent Age) is genuinely valuable and free, but it has limits: volunteer availability is unreliable, sessions are usually 1 hour, the volunteer rarely drives the client anywhere, and there’s no guarantee of the same person. For consistent, planned support over months or years, paid companion care from a regulated provider is more dependable.
What companion care costs in 2026
| Service | From price | Typical booking |
|---|---|---|
| Visiting companion care | £25/hour | 2–4 hours per visit, 1–3 visits per week |
| Half-day companion care | £100–£120 | Better value for longer visits |
| Full-day companion care | £200–£260 | Useful when family carers need a day off |
| Live-in companion care | From £1,100/week | For people who shouldn’t be alone overnight |
Most companion-care clients book 4–8 hours a week, total cost £100–£200/week. It’s one of the more affordable home care services, and the impact on mental wellbeing is disproportionate to the cost.
Who pays for companion care?
Most companion care is self-funded. It’s harder to access council funding for purely social support than for personal care, because the eligibility criteria centre on practical needs like washing and dressing rather than loneliness.
That said, it’s worth checking:
- Local council direct payments — if the person has an existing care package, companion-care hours can sometimes be added in.
- Attendance Allowance — for over-65s, £72.65 or £108.55 per week (2026), not means-tested. The money can be spent on anything that helps the person stay independent, including companion care.
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP) — for under-65s, similar principle.
- Carer’s Allowance — for a family carer providing 35+ hours/week, £81.90/week.
For a fuller breakdown of how to fund home care in the UK, see how to pay for home care.
How to choose a companion care provider
The 8-point Oath qualifier applies just as much to companion care as to personal care — possibly more, because trust matters even more when someone is going to be sitting in your dad’s living room every Tuesday afternoon.
- CQC Rated Good or Outstanding — check live ratings on the CQC website.
- DBS-checked carers — absolutely non-negotiable, even for purely social visits.
- Same carer each visit — the relationship IS the service. A rota of 4 different carers a week is not companion care.
- Carer personality match — the provider should make a thoughtful match: someone with shared interests, similar age preference, language, hobbies.
- Family communication — daily notes or app updates so you know how the visit went.
- Out-of-hours support — what if something happens during a visit? The provider should have a 24/7 line.
- Local presence with a named manager — a phone call to a person, not a national call centre.
- Pricing transparency — published hourly rates, written quotes, no surprise weekend or evening loadings without notice.
For the deeper version, see 27 questions to ask before signing up.
Frequently asked questions
What is companion care?
Companion care (also called companionship care) is non-personal-care home support focused on social interaction, mental wellbeing, light household help, walks, outings, and getting out of the house. It’s distinct from personal care (washing, dressing, medication) and from dementia care, though it can run alongside both.
How much does companionship care cost in the UK?
UK 2026: from £25/hour for visits, with most families booking 4–8 hours per week (total cost £100–£200/week). Half-day visits £100–£120, full-day visits £200–£260. Live-in companionship from £1,100/week.
What’s the difference between companion care and a befriending service?
Befriending services (often through charities like Age UK) are usually free but limited: volunteers, 1-hour sessions, no transport, often different person each visit. Companion care is paid, CQC-regulated, with DBS-checked trained carers, reliable scheduling, the same person each visit, and insurance for driving the client to appointments or activities.
Can the same carer provide both companion care and personal care?
Yes. Many older adults start with companion care and add personal care later as needs increase. Using the same provider — and ideally the same carer — for both means the trust and routine are already in place. Most CQC-regulated providers can flex the service as needs change.
Is companion care covered by the NHS or council?
Rarely as a standalone service. NHS Continuing Healthcare is for clinical needs, not social ones. Council funding focuses on practical care like washing and dressing. However, non-means-tested benefits like Attendance Allowance (£72.65–£108.55/week for over-65s) and PIP can be spent on companion care if the person qualifies.
How many hours of companion care do most people book?
Most companion-care clients book 4–8 hours per week, typically across 2–3 visits. Common patterns: a 2-hour visit twice a week, or a longer 4-hour visit once a week that includes an outing. The ideal pattern depends on the person’s social routine and what hours of the day are loneliest.
Can a companion carer drive my mum to appointments?
Yes — provided the provider has appropriate insurance and the carer has a clean licence. This is one of the biggest practical differences between paid companion care and volunteer befriending. Oath carers can drive clients to medical appointments, family visits, social clubs, the hairdresser, or anywhere else within reason.
Speak to the Oath Healthcare companion care team
Oath Healthcare delivers companion care that’s matched to the person, not generic. CQC Rated Good. DBS-checked. Same carer each visit. Pricing published up-front. Speak to a local care advisor for a free no-obligation assessment:
- Cambridge: 01223 755887 — covering Cambridgeshire, Ely, Huntingdon, Newmarket, St Neots
- Suffolk: 01223 755887 — covering Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Sudbury, Mildenhall
- Redbridge & East London: 020 3949 4333 — covering Ilford, Wanstead, Woodford, Romford
- South Essex: 01268 206550 — covering Basildon, Southend, Canvey Island, Brentwood
- Nottingham: 0115 865 6333 — covering West Bridgford, Beeston, Mansfield, Hucknall