Companions
At Dorothy House, we're pleased to be able to offer three exceptional companion services: telephone, community and hospital based Companions.
Community Companions provide companionship and emotional support to patients in their home each week. Compassionate Companions is a hospital-based service at the RUH for patents who are near end of life and may otherwise be alone.
Compassionate Companions (hospital based)
Compassionate Companions is a service we offer that is based at the Royal United Hospital (RUH) in Bath. It’s designed for hospital patients who are at the end of their lives and who might otherwise be alone. Compassionate Companions can also sit with a patient so that their family and friends can have time away from the bedside.
Telephone Companions Service
Our volunteer telephone companions are now able to provide regular phone calls to both patients and family members to support those who might feel socially isolated and/or lonely. Working alongside the clinical and therapeutic teams, the Telephone Companions offer friendly calls, based around the social needs of the patient rather than their clinical need.
Community Companions (community based)
Community Companions are volunteers who spend time with patients in their home, usually for two or three hours each week. They are there to provide companionship and emotional support, which may also allow carers to have some time for themselves.
A member of the Community Companions Team usually meets patients before matching them with a compatible volunteer. Companions take their lead from patients – so they may spend their time together chatting, sharing music, playing board games or maybe visiting the shops or going for a coffee, depending on the patient’s wishes.
Some of our Companions also help patients document their life stories – with photographs, voice recordings, letter writing and scrapbooking – creating something valuable to pass on to loved ones.
You can view our volunteering vacancies here.