Capable Care

Here's the youngest member of the team doing a quick trip to the shops - proof that getting out and about is enjoyable at any age!

We also know that shopping can be tricky - big shops, getting to and from, carrying the bags home and navigating the spaces. We can help with all of those things as part of our care and companionship service.

Getting out and seeing the world can be really important for clients who are more isolated - we know it can impact on food choices, nutrition and isolation.

If you imagine trying to do a weekly shop when you last saw the inside of a supermarket 2 or 3 years ago it's easy to see how you end up with the same food week after week. And boring food isn't appetising...so people eat less.

We offer a trip on the bus or in a taxi, or for short distances in a pushed wheelchair to all the supermarkets. We will bring home, unpack and put away for you too!

If you think you or someone you know would like a trip to the shops regularly then do get in touch - you can contact our office on 020 8650 7264.

Want to know if we do a good job? - You can read our CQC report here: https://tinyurl.com/CapableCareCQC

🧑🏻‍⚕️🩺Annual Health Checks are offered to everyone with a learning disability over the age of 14. 🏥

These appointments are designed to help people stay well and healthy by picking up problems early. We know that people with a learning disability are more likely to die early of avoidable causes so regular check ups are crucial to staying healthy.

- do a physical check-up, including weight, heart rate and blood pressure

- they may ask you to p*e in a small pot for them to check your urine, or ask you to have a blood test

- talk to you about staying well and if you need any help with this
ask about things that can be more common if you have a learning disability, such as epilepsy, constipation or problems with swallowing (dysphagia), or with your eyesight or hearing

- talk to you about your medicines to make sure you are being given the right medicines when you need them

- check to see if your vaccinations are up to date

- check how you are feeling if you have a health problem such as asthma or diabetes

- check to see if you have any other health appointments

- ask if your family or carers are getting the support they need
help make sure that things go well when children move to adult services at the age of 18

You can watch Harshi have her health check here:

https://youtu.be/ocU8XhD1kh8?si=vgoiP9_8aZIlyZpK

Early detection and prevention are crucial to picking up problems before they get serious. Good quality care plays a key role in this - connecting well trained staff with people they know and care for.

If you would like to chat abou the options please contact us at [email protected]

# earlydetection

Well done Bromley Mencap - very interested to see this!

Bromley Experts by Experience (X by X) General Election Hustings - Tuesday 25th June 2024 1pm to 3.30pm (FREE lunch from 12pm)
Location: Bromley URC Church, 20 Widmore Road, Bromley, BR1 1RY AND online via Zoom��

Join Bromley Experts by Experience to question and hear about the views and policies of candidates standing in Bromley Borough constituencies for the General Election. We have invited all major political parties to discuss barriers facing Deaf and Disabled people and Carers.

Please register for a FREE place here: https://buff.ly/4edpWCN

Make use of free health checks!

Aged between 40 to 74 years? NHS Health Checks are available free of charge.

Everyone eligible can take up the offer to get personalised advice to help reduce their risk of developing serious conditions.

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/health-wellbeing/nhs-health-checks

REGISTER FOR A POSTAL VOTE BY 18th JUNE!

The constituency boundaries have changed in Beckenham and the new constituency spans Beckenham & Penge which mixs traditionally Labour and Conservative areas! You can find out more about the people standing by scanning the QR code above or clicking here.

https://whocanivotefor.co.uk/elections/parl.beckenham-and-penge.2024-07-04/beckenham-and-penge/

We know lots of people, for various reasons, cannot always get out to vote.

We also know that people do want to vote and are interested to do so!

So if you or someone you care for needs a postal vote then they can register here on the government website.

https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

If you want a team that thinks about how you can stay involved, even when you are stuck indoors Capable Care can help. Drop us a message or pop in to our High Street location at 167 High Street, Beckenham, BR3 1AE.

It costs you nothing, you can do it at home and you post it back - please make sure you are doing your screening checks if offered them!

‘I didn’t know if I was going to see my next birthday. I feel like the luckiest guy on earth to be honest.’

57-year-old Jon, a keen runner, completed his bowel cancer screening test last summer.

‘It was a surprise to be called for a follow-up colonoscopy in July and then surgery in August for bowel cancer.’

Needing two tumours and 20 polyps removed, Jon says that screening caught his cancer before it could become worse.

‘I am so grateful to the team at University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. I would urge everyone who is sent a screening test not to ignore it – it may just save your life.’

Jon, who now wears a stoma, is back running, hiking and being active with his family.

Detecting bowel cancer at the earliest stage makes you nine times more likely to be successfully treated. If you are sent a bowel cancer screening test, put it by the loo. Don’t put it off.

Find more information on bowel cancer screening. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/bowel-cancer-screening/

Social afternoon free to over 55s next weekend at Melvin Hall

Well done Ryde Town Council ! Love seeing projects like this come to fruition!

🫖A nice cup of tea...and a new mug. 🫖

We love a cup of tea and look at this amazing cup we found in Scope in Beckenham! It's a perfect match for our brand colours and had that little bit of something different we hope we bring to our clients!

😍 Scope is one of our favourite charities because we share so many common values. They are active and passionate advocates for equality regardless of disability.

They have developed a social model of disability which they describe thus:

🚧"... people are disabled by barriers in society, not by their impairment or difference. Barriers can be physical, like buildings not having accessible toilets. Or they can be caused by people's attitudes to difference, like assuming disabled people can't do certain things.

🟰The social model helps us recognise barriers that make life harder for disabled people. Removing these barriers creates equality and offers disabled people more independence, choice and control."

💁🏾This is everything we are about - levelling the field and enabling choice and enagagement with life on people's own terms.

📧To find out more about what it's like to have help from us - drop us a message or you can email [email protected]

🐍 BANK HOLIDAY THROWBACK! ☔️

🎪At a very wet, soggy early May Bank Holiday a friend and I tested our friendship when I tried to convince her to hold a Carpet Python at the West Wickham Village Day. This snake is pretty and patterned and lives with the brilliant guys at Reptile Events in West Wickham.

👼🏻In fairness, I wasn't a super snake fan myself to start with - but the youngest member of the Capable Care team is. So what's important to him is important to me.

🫶🏾All care should be like this - finding out about what people like and then trying to build support around the likes, preferences and needs that make up a person. This includes engaging in things they love, rather than just assuming everyone will love the same things as we do.

😍As part of our care planning we ask people about what they like, things they enjoy and how they want to stay engaged with the local community.

🐍🦎For those that also love a reptile - the Events team run a ran of outreach and educational activites. They visit schools, scout groups, birthday parties and other events like this West Wickham Village Day to share their knowledge and educate people. They are a rescue so you can donate here - https://www.reptile-events.co.uk - either by monthly sponsorship of an animal, a one off donation

Cheap and cheerful way to support the brilliant local services Bromley Mencap offers!

Become a Bromley Mencap member. It's FREE for the first year and £20 per year thereafter. Your membership fee helps us to support more disabled people, their families, and carers to enjoy better lives.

Find all the information you need here: https://buff.ly/4bdNg18

How super clever is this!

A groundbreaking wearable device is helping detect those at risk of a stroke and improve waiting times for treatment at Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Stroke patients can wear the adhesive mobile electrocardiogram patch for up to 14 days to record their heart rhythm to reveal potential causes of stroke.

The small, lightweight patch, pictured here held by Ward Manager Sanjula, is applied to a patient’s chest where it analyses their heart's electrical activity.

After patients finish wearing the device, the data is overseen by cardiographic technicians. Within four days, a full report is supplied to the stroke team for final analysis, reducing the time patients would usually have to wait for investigation and treatment.

This innovative patch means patients can continue their daily activities almost as normal — like exercising and showering — and even remove the device themselves without the need for a return hospital visit.

By providing faster and more detailed data, the patch can identify atrial fibrillation more accurately. Early detection means treatment can begin sooner, potentially reducing the risk of stroke by two-thirds.

Window Boxes!

Every year we redo our window boxes - in pink of course! Here's Iwona, our Supervisor, sorting out our new window boxes ready to start flowering!

In some ways you could consider the flower boxes part of personalised office care plan. How would we describe them?

🌸 Looking nice is important to us - it's important our "outfit" or shopfront matches and looks coordinated! It makes us feel good and helps us appear to others in a way we are comfortable. This is something we always try to do for our clients. Some people love to lash on the lippy, others are comfy in a pair of familiar joggers. Anything goes so long as it makes you happy!

🌺 We love enagaging with our local community - we like watching people stop and look at the flowers and it makes us happy to make someone else happy - it's at the core of what we do! Havng a talking point makes it easier to connect with people - we have a list of local, friendly places to go for coffee or activities so that people find supportive, friendly places to still stage engaged with the community.

🌷 We just love the flowers - sometimes we have things in our care plans that don't have a specific purpose other than just bringing joy. There are things we do just because we like doing them - not because they get us clean, or fed, or anything else. Having our flowers ready for the summer is part of that!

🌸 Our carers will help with a range of tasks - from the basics of washing and dressing through to helping our clients get ready for a wedding or to w**d the window box! We want you to be enabled to live a life you want - not a life anyone else thinks is best for you!

If we sound like the right kind boquet of people for you - then drop us a message at [email protected]

🏡🏡 WHY HAVE HOME CARE? 🏡🏡

These are our Top 5 reasons our clients have home care!

🏡 1. YOU ARE IN A RELATIONSHIP AND WANT TO STAY TOGETHER
We see lots of people married for decades who need different help. A care home might not be suitable for both and they don't want to be split up. We can help by sending a trained carer who can look after one or both people.

🏡 2. YOU LOVE YOUR HOME!
We spent many years, decorating, nuturing and living in our homes. They are often cozy and familiar to us, stacked with memories. You've got a favourite spot to sit down for a cup of tea - personally I love a cup of Yorkshire Tea Gold with a Marks and Spencer custard slice for a proper treat!

🏡 3. YOU KNOW HOW TO MANAGE AT HOME WITH A BIT OF HELP
We often have a routine at home - a chair we use to balance, a routine for being able to cook - lots of these skills can be lost if you move to an unfamiliar enviroment. In our experience big changes are usually best done by your mid 70s so you have time to make friends and learn routines whilst you are still active.

🏡. 4. YOU BELONG TO A COMMUNITY
Friends pop in, you go to church or host a home group, you play Bridge or belong to a local group. Perhaps you are near family....all these things are super important in how we feel and our sense of who we are. Popping in for a natter is easy if you live next door - we pop in regularly to our neighbours on the high street!

🏡 5. YOU WANT TO DO THINGS IN YOUR OWN TIME IN YOUR OWN WAY
Inevitably, if you live in someone else's space you have to follow their rules. You are also relying on everyone else in the building following the rules. By staying at home you can set the time of day you want to get up, move around, eat, sleep, watch TV or do your washing. It's your house, your rules!

If you or someone you know needs help to stay at home - Please do give us a ring on 020 8650 7264 or drop us an email on [email protected]

Fire Risk Assessment...

🔥 As part of our risk assessments for clients we consider a range of risks - partly to see if we can help improve a situation but also to identify risks that might cause harm to the patient or the carer.

🔥 In our office we also do a risk assessment - and we have help from our friends Safety is the Key for those ones as they have tons of commercial expertise.

🔥 For people in their own homes London Fire Brigade do this super checklist looking at the things that might cause a risk to people. It's a helpful list of thing to watch out for and also things that might increase risk including things that are less well known like some moisturisers which can build up and act like a fuel!

🔥 Having someone popping in regularly, or in some cases, living in the house with you can be a helpful way to manage risk. We can help with key tasks like cooking a hot meal so that other people don't have to.

👨🏻‍🚒 To find out more give us a call on 020 8 650 7264

👩🏿‍🚒 You can download a copy of the check list from the LFB website here: https://www.london-fire.gov.uk/safety/carers-and-support-workers/using-a-fire-risk-checklist/fire-risk-checklist/

Did you know over HALF of bowel cancers are preventable! 54% could be avoided by better lifestyle habits - eating enough fibre, reducing processed meats, doing excercise, maintaining a healthy weight and going easy on the booze!

April is Bowel Cancer Awareness month and it's important to talk about for us because 9/10 cases are diagnosed in people over 50. There's also a national screening programme from for people aged 60-74 and there are lots of resources to support. this. You can watch a video here about how to do the p**p on stick test at home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hb7euOEXEsc

Research UK has the following facts:

1 in 20 UK females and 1 in 17 UK males will be diagnosed with bowel cancer in their lifetime (born in 1961).
54% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are preventable.
13% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by eating processed meat.
11% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by overweight and obesity.
6% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by alcohol drinking.
7% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by smoking.
2% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by ionising radiation.
5% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by too little physical activity.
28% of bowel cancer cases in the UK are caused by eating too little fibre.

Absolutely ❤️❤️ this story from BBC One about truly finding your voice!

Hurrah for personalisation!

Man with robot voice finally finds his Walsall accent Daniel Challis, who uses a communication device, wanted a regional accent to sound like his family.

Happy Birthday to Capable Care!

We opened our Beckenham High Street office on 3 years ago today on the 24th April 2021! This was the tail end of covid lockdowns - we were exhausted from working throughout the pandemic and humbled by how much people had valued the care staff who worked day in and day out.

There was no browsing in the shops - so the entire office had to be furnished via online shopping. Who knew Amazon did sofas!

We have loved being in this location - we are at heart a community based organisation and we love being part of the High Street Community.

Thank to everyone who has waved as they go past, smiled, admired the flowers or used our services. We know everyone has a choice and we are delighted when we are yours!

If you are thinking of care, or know someone who is struggling please do pop in for a chat! We love to help and you don't have to go on to use us - we will be happy to just give a bit of advice or tell the options for a future time.

Thanks also to the business that supported us
First Aid 4 All Training CIC who helped us train staff and took blood pressures on the day
Safety is the Key who do our fire risk assessments and other health checks
Imageworx Group who did our signage despite loads of changes
Jayne Redgrave who sorts our all our graphics work
&C Printers who made our brochures a reality
Ollie Polly Play Cafe who despite being closed made up zillions of cream teas for us to give away at the launch
Hannah Gray for Beckenham and Penge who was then Small Business Champion and Mayor of Bromley who is now standing as the local MP candidate - she came to recognise our work in the pandemic and came back to open the office for us which was brilliant.
Printing Progress who turned around uniforms on the same day
St Edmund's Church, Beckenham - Deacon Sean very kindly came to bless our endevours

We love staff that wear the correct Protective Equipment!

Happy St George's Day to everyone celebrating! Culture is so important in who we are!



Credit: Richard Lee Photography/English Heritage Trust

Recently, we were in County Clare in Ireland, enjoying a mix of gorgeous Spring sunshine which you can see in the photo, mixed in with a splash of rain and 50mph winds. We don't just want to make you jealous with beautiful photos of beautiful scenary though...there are a couple of important things to mention:

1) Respite - a chance to rest, recover and restore oneself is so important in caring roles. There's going to be a post later in the week about how we help with this - but too often we see families struggling through when a little bit or help or a respite break would be so welcome. There's no shame in saying caring for someone is a burden - it's often one we willingly carry, but it's ok to ask someone to help you.

2) Culture - Where we come from and how we lived is so important in who we are as people. We ask all of our clients about their background as part of our care planning process. We want to know the things they like and the things they make them comfortable. The west coast of Ireland is where our people are from - it shapes us so getting a chance to see familiar places and family was really important as well as the passing on of oral histories and hertiage to the next generation.

Personalised, responsive care is what all should aim for - if you'd like to continue the conversation about the services we offer please call on 020 8650 7264. If you want this view - you need to book with Jennifer and the team at

Did you know we do day trips?

These two are enjoying a day at Hever Castle. The Gardens are absolutely beautiful at this time of year and they do a mean slice of cake 🍰

Eggs? Cereal? Toast? Tea?

Whatever you have we can help get you ready for the day with our morning service. We offer help with getting up, getting ready and getting breakfast!

Unlike a care home, in your own home you can choose whatever you like, and have it however you like it. So if like us, you can't live without a cuppa - give us a ring on 020 8 650 7264.



Photo by Ben Kolde on Unsplash

"Overall the service is excellent" - could any company ask for better feedback than that? :)

These words were collected as part of the anonymous feedback session that our CQC inspector did with clients. There are a couple of things that make this special:

1) CQC announcements are largely unannounced. We usually get told a day or two which is definitely not enough time to influence any clients even if we wanted to (we don't - all feedback is good and helps you grow right?!)

2) We don't know which clients will be spoken to - the inspector choses so we can't say "Please pick Joe Bloggs because he loves us" - it's up to the inspector.

3) We don't see the feedback until the report is published into the public domain pretty much and we have no influence over this part of the report.

This kind of feedback comes when our staff are doing high quality, inclusive care that people love having day after day. It's not always glamourous but it is life changing and enabling for so many people.

If you are thinking of choosing a care provider - take time to read their CQC report and hear the honest feedback people have given about a service. It will help you make a decision about whether a service is safe and more importantly whether it's the kind you want in your home.

You can read our CQC report here > https://tinyurl.com/CapableCareCQC

Whooo! One of our favourite local charities CASPA Autism Online was in Capable Care LOVES putting the tokens in here. Last quarter our favourite was the YODA programme from Mind because we have first hand experience of early onset dementia and lack of suitable facilities and provision for those people.

Get on your bike! In the nicest possible sense! 😁

Do you want to do something fun over the half term?
Free bike loans ‍are available at the Lodge 🚴 at Norman Park, Bromley.
We have a range of bikes available for loan from Tuesday to Thursday from 10.30am-2.30pm. Telephone 020 8466 0790 for more information and to reserve a bike for use. Donations welcome. Our disabled students also operate a coffee shop from the Kiosk so why not enjoy some refreshments after!

Absolutely delighted to see proper loos with flat bed changing and hoists in line with Changing Places UK standard in Bromley. Thanks Bromley Council and Mytime Active

Work is underway on two new Changing Places toilets thanks to Bromley's leisure provider Mytime, following Government funding being successfully secured by the council.

The facilities at The Pavilion Leisure Centre and Biggin Hill Pool and Library will bring the number of registered Changing Places in the borough to eight.

Changing Places are fully accessible toilets, primarily designed for people with physical disabilities, which can also benefit people with learning disabilities who need support with their personal care. These facilities give disabled people and their carers the space and equipment they need to spend time in the local community and enjoy the day-to-day activities many take for granted.

https://www.bromley.gov.uk/news/article/646/two-new-changing-places-toilets-to-open-in-leisure-centres-this-spring

This is such an important topic! Please contribute if you can and have relevant experience!

What could be done to improve housing for disabled people?

The Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee wants to hear about experiences of finding or adapting suitable accessible housing.

Responses to the survey will be used to shape the Committee's final Report. Complete the survey before February 15 to ensure you make your voice heard.

https://forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=nt3mHDeziEC-Xo277ASzSugWXtlS9G1OpuyhNtc2h8lUQTk1TFRYUDM0MjNQNzlaTFZCODEwOTlNTSQlQCN0PWcu