Loneliness rarely announces itself. It looks like a television left on for the noise, a diary with nothing in it after Tuesday, or a phone that only rings when somebody needs something.

Companion care is the part of what we do that asks nothing clinical of anybody. A companion arrives at the same time each week and stays for an hour or two. What happens in that time is up to the two of you: talking, a film, a walk to the shops, a jigsaw, an afternoon at the garden centre, or simply sitting together with a cup of tea.

It is not personal care, and it is not a minder. There is no rota of strangers and nothing has to be explained twice, because the same person comes each time — matched on the things that make conversation easy rather than on who happens to be free.

Companion care works on its own for somebody who is managing well but spends too much of the week alone. It also works alongside a care package: a familiar face between the visits that are about washing, dressing and medication.

Before the first visit, a companion comes to meet you with a member of the office team. Nothing is agreed until you have met them, and you can change companion without giving a reason.

What a companion visit includes

• A regular weekly or twice-weekly visit, at a time that suits you
• The same companion each time — matched on interests, not on who is free
• Conversation, films, walks, hobbies, outings and appointments
• A quiet word to the family if something does not seem right
• No personal care needed — though it can sit alongside a care package
• One or two hours at a time, agreed before the first visit

How it starts

Available on its own, or alongside a care package.