Our story

We started because of our mum.

In 2013, our mother — Eileen — was diagnosed with vascular dementia. We are Hannah and Claire Wallis, and at the time we had spent twenty-odd years between us as nurses on the wards at King’s College Hospital and St Thomas’.

We thought we would know exactly how to arrange her care. We were wrong. What we found was an industry of agency rotas, fifteen-minute visits and a different face every week. Our mum — who had taught at Lewisham Primary for thirty years — began to withdraw.

So in 2014 we started Beechwood. One small office in Bromley, three carers we had handpicked ourselves, and a single rule: the same person, every visit. Eleven years on, we are 98 strong, we cover South East London and Kent, and that rule has not moved an inch.

Hannah & Claire Wallis

Co-founders, Beechwood Care

Hannah and Claire, founders of Beechwood Care

CQC rated

Outstanding

Rated outstanding in caring, responsive and well-led at our last inspection (Mar 2024).

What we hold to

Four small promises that shape everything else.

Continuity, always

The same one or two carers for every visit. No rota strangers, no last-minute swaps. Familiarity is the quiet engine of good care.

Employed, never agency

Every Beechwood carer is on our payroll, with sick pay, holiday and pension. It costs more — and it shows in the people we attract and keep.

Honest about what we cannot do

There are some situations home care isn’t the right answer for. We will tell you straight, and help you find what is.

Family at the table

Care plans are built with families, not handed to them. We meet around the kitchen table, in the home, before anything begins.

How we hire

Only one in fifteen applicants makes it through.

We are unapologetically picky. Care is one of the most personal jobs there is, and the wrong person in the wrong home can do real harm. Our recruitment process is slower than most — but that is the point.