Companion policy
Who can stay with the patient, and the practical rules.
The rules
One companion may stay in the patient's room throughout an inpatient stay. The companion is expected to take part in family training sessions for neurological programmes. Additional companions can be accommodated where a room allows.
This is the question international patients ask first, so the answer is on its own page rather than in a paragraph on a longer one.
Why a companion is usually required
For most neurological inpatient programmes a companion is required rather than recommended. They assist outside therapy hours, they are trained in the handling and the home programme, and they are the person delivering it for the rest of the year.
Family training is a scheduled part of the programme, not a conversation at discharge.
What is included
A companion bed is provided with an inpatient admission, and meals depending on the programme. Whether additional companions can stay depends on the room.
Confirm this in your written plan rather than assuming. Tell us how many people are travelling when the programme is agreed — adding a companion after arrival is not always possible.
What we ask of companions
Attendance at family training. Willingness to learn transfers and the home programme rather than doing everything for the patient — a family that assists too thoroughly removes the practice the patient needs, and this is the most common way good rehabilitation is undone.
Realistic pacing. A companion exhausted by week three is a problem for the patient as well as for themselves.
