Questions to ask about hospital companionship

Ask what the caregiver has actually done for similar situations, which references can be spoken to and on what date, and how they would handle a named difficult moment from your own week.

Apply this guide to one current family decision. Write down the evidence available, the information still missing, who will check it and the date the decision will be reviewed.

Ask the practical terms plainly: the exact duties and hours, who covers a sick day, how a concern is raised, what notice ends the arrangement, and which tasks fall outside a non-clinical brief.

Write the answers down as you go and keep them with the task list. A conversation that resists written answers about hospital companionship tells you as much as one that welcomes them.

Keep the written answers about hospital companionship with the task list, and revisit them if the shortlist changes. A choice made from notes lasts better than one made from the strongest impression left in the room.

Throughout hospital companionship, keep daily-living support separate from clinical work. Personal-care routines, meals, companionship and agreed mobility assistance can form a caregiver brief. Assessment, treatment, medication administration and anything needing clinical judgement stays with appropriately qualified healthcare professionals, and urgent symptoms mean calling 999 first.

What to have ready

• The options actually available in your situation
• The current professional plan or instructions
• A date to review the decision after it is made
• Sources or bodies to verify current facts against
• What the person receiving care prefers