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Befriending Service

Support for you and your loved one

The purpose of our Befriending Service

If you’re in the last year of life, or caring for someone who is, it can be challenging and isolating. Our Befriending Service is here to support both you and your loved ones.

This service offers flexible support for patients and carers, with visits from our volunteers tailored to your needs. Whether it’s social activities like coffee, walks, or joining a local group, or practical help like picking up prescriptions or shopping, we’re here to help.

Our goal is to reduce isolation and provide companionship through a supportive relationship with a volunteer.

Photo of two older people walking away along a footpath in a large garden.
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How does the service work?

After a referral, we’ll call to discuss your needs. Once we find a suitable befriender, we’ll visit you at home to get to know you and explain both the possibilities, and the boundaries of the service. We aim to match you with someone you’ll get on with.

The Hospice will stay in touch to ensure you’re happy with the match and make improvements if needed. 

Who are the befrienders?

All our befrienders are volunteers who are compassionate, good listeners from all walks of life and are dedicated to making a difference. While they offer companionship, they are not clinical professionals and cannot help with moving, medication, or personal care.

All befrienders are carefully selected, interviewed, DBS checked, and fully trained.

Who can be referred?

Anyone who’s in the last year of their life whose primary diagnosis is not dementia.

You don’t need to be an existing patient of the Hospice.

How can I get a referral?

Service users need a health and social care professional to make a referral for them. This could be a Macmillan nurse, District nurse, Social worker, Care co-ordinator, Social prescriber or any health and social professional to have contact with you.   

Photo of Community Volunteer Services Lead Ameera Fletcher sitting at a table in the Hospice garden smiling at the camera.
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Need more information?

To find out more about our Befriending Service, please contact 01625 664984, or email Befriending.Service@echospice.org.uk.

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