Good Companions

Christmas Services

2011-11-22T12:47:00.000Z

Leading up to Christmas, Good Companions is offering a range of services to help clients mange their preparations. It might simply be drawing up a Christmas card mailing list and addressing envelopes or providing support to choose and buy gifts for the family. Some clients might like to be taken into town to do a spot of shopping, whilst others might want Sheila to source a special gift online. It's the time of year too when we all like to catch up with friends and family, but not everyone feels up to organising a get-together. Sheila can do all the hard work for you by sorting the refreshments and invitations to being there on the day to ensure all goes well, whether it be coffee and mince pies for a few close friends or something a little more grand.

Change is traumatic

2011-11-22T12:35:00.000Z

We all find change difficult and for elderly people the prospect of moving home can be very traumatic. Good Companions can provide practical help and emotional support during this time. It might just be helping pack things ready for the move or talking through what needs to be recycled or taken to charity shops.
This service is of particular value to families who live some distance from their elderly relative and are worried that they are not close enough to provide support before and after the move. Sheila has been working with such a family and has been able to reduce the anxiety by working directly with the elderly client and working on behalf of the daughter 300 miles away as she organises the move into residential care.

Holidays & hospitals

2011-08-11T12:05:00.000+01:00

Its a worry when you go away on holiday and have to leave an elderly relative who is used to you popping in regularly for a chat. Good Companions can help plug that temporary gap to allow you to relax into a well earned break, knowing that someone trust worthy and caring will drop by to ensure all is well. Its reassuring for all concerned to know that your family member will have company and that there is someone to help with shopping or to take them out for coffee.

Sheila can also step in to provide friendly help and support for an elderly or disabled person if they find themselves alone, for a short period of time; for example if their main carer/partner/family member has to go into hospital. We can reduce stress and anxiety, offer practical support, do shopping, sort things out, organise visits, and generally keeping things ticking over.

Making friends is hard

2011-08-04T12:18:00.000+01:00

How easy is it to make new friends ( of even sustain old friendships) when your memory starts to play-up? It's not easy at all when you can't remember someone or what they might have told you about themselves in recent exchanges. Effective and mutually enjoyable communication tends to depend upon shared exchanges of information and observations. Memory loss removes the all important 'recall-tool' which oils the wheels of communication. As friends, we listen, respond and share interest in each other. Not surprisingly as your memory diminishes so can your world and your contacts.

We might assume an individual is unfriendly or self centred because we don't understand what difficulties s/he is facing. It requires patience to communicate with someone who is losing touch with the here and now. It's worth discovering topics from the past which the person can enjoy recalling. We need to step into the world and time which makes them happy. Prompts, in the form of statements, are preferable to questions which can increase anxiety. Provide opportunities for them to talk about what they can remember. For short periods of time we need to forego our inclination to transmit and move into receivor mode.

How can we help sustain the socialisation of people losing their memory?

Value for money?

2011-06-29T18:06:00.000+01:00

I've had more enquiries for Good Companions services this week and the first questioned is: how much will it cost. Understandable.
It's hard to put a price tag on this type of service which is more that providing a home help or carer. Yes, Sheila charges from £20 an hour, but that's because the quality of what she provides is underpinned by a whole raft of professional skills gleaned from years of experience as a teacher and guidance counsellor. Think what a hairdresser or a plumber charges and you'll realise that Good Companions is value for money. A lot of the time, in additional to the obvious service, Sheila is also offering informal life coaching and counselling support, which people pay £40+ an hour for!

This week we've had enquiries from a couple in their 70s looking for some-one they can trust to offer companionship and a range of services for a vulnerable, disabled, adult relative. They currently pay someone £12 an hour to take their relative out each week, but they are now wondering if they need someone with a higher skill set.
Another phone call came from a cleaning franchise: an elderly gentleman has requested a cleaner but also needs someone help with 'other tasks' including shopping. Whether he accepts that 'the other tasks' will cost more than his cleaner remains to be seen....

Whose needs do we need to meet?

2011-06-23T16:34:00.001+01:00

When providing support services to quite elderly people it can be tricky determining how appropriate it is to liaise with a client's family. The needs and wishes of the client are paramount, but there are times when communication with family members can be of benefit to all concerned. It is particularly helpful to be in touch with someone in the family when a client experiences memory loss or easily gets confused.

Good Companions encourages clients to tell their close family that they are using the service to avoid misunderstandings. On first meeting a new client we try to find out how they feel about appropriate contact with a family member. Occasional email or phone contact with a son or daughter can be reassuring for all parties and help ensure that the appropriate support is provided in a co-ordinated manner.

Good Companions recognises that caring,concerned sons and daughters have needs to!