About our Companion Services in the Inverness area including Dementia care and help for carers

Our Services

What we offer

We tailor the companion services we provide to the needs and wishes of the individual client. We do not require that a client contracts with us for any set number of visits but we do have a minimum visit time of two hours, which we consider necessary to allow us to deliver a quality service.

Companionship

The companion role differs from client to client according to a client’s needs and wishes. Some clients may have lost confidence, perhaps through illness or bereavement and need help and encouragement to take up previous hobbies and interests. Others may need practical help around the home with tasks that they now find difficult such as changing a bed, shopping, dealing with correspondence. Or it may be that a client is no longer able to get about independently, close friends and family are living some distance away and the person would like someone to spend time with them taking them to appointments and social activities. All our companions drive and regularly take clients to appointments and out for social activities; lunch, coffee, visiting places of interest and importance to the client.

Dementia Companions

For clients with a diagnosis of dementia we are able to offer a more specialist companion service tailored to assisting the client to maintain the optimum level of physical, mental, social and emotional wellbeing.

Our visits to our clients with dementia can also provide a period of respite and support for their carer. An opportunity for a carer to have some much needed time for themselves; a chance maybe to meet with friends or take up a hobby once again, without worrying about their loved one at home.

All of our staff have been trained to Dementia Informed Practice Level in accordance with the Promoting Excellence Framework that supports Scotland’s Dementia Strategy and some of our staff have attained the Skilled and Expertise in Dementia Practice Levels.

Our Companion Services include but are not limited to:

• Accompanying to appointments, clubs, groups, cinema or theatre

• Outings for social activities; lunch, coffee, visits to places of interest

• Sharing and encouraging hobbies and interests

• Shopping

• Practical help around the home

• Reminiscing about stories, photos from the past, helping a client to document their life story

• Help with correspondence and modern technology

• Simply having a chat and a cuppa!

CONTACT US

CST Therapy

We also have staff members who have received training in Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST). CST is a non-medical therapy recommended by the National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) www.nice.org.uk, for individuals diagnosed with mild to moderate dementia.

CST was developed by researchers at the University College London www.ucl.ac.uk. It is a short-term, evidence-based, group or individual intervention program for people with mild to moderate dementia. CST aims to improve the quality of life for a person with dementia by providing them with the opportunity to take part in meaningful and stimulating structured activities that they enjoy. These activities are designed to help keep the person’s mind active and to encourage them to take part in social activities.

For our clients with a diagnosis of mild to moderate dementia we are able to structure our visits to include CST based activities. These activities are tailored to the individual’s interests, skills, experiences and abilities and participation by family members or other carers is encouraged.

As this service is tailored to meets the specific requirements of the client, please contact us for further details.