Personal care is one of the most intimate and most overlooked challenges in home and community support, and a Scottish startup founded by two women thinks its innovative yet simple product can change that and users agree.

A Product Born From A Family’s Distress

The idea did not emerge from a design lab. It came from lived experience. Co-founder Lorraine Moran has described how a relative discharged from hospital faced a different carer every day, each time being undressed with no time to build trust. “She said she just felt horrible and she was getting stressed every day,” Lorrain recalled. “She says I just hate it. I hate it. I hate it. And I feel as if I’m not getting better because I’m getting so stressed.”

It was co-founder Maureen Callan, together, the pair spent months testing fabric samples and developing patterns before arriving at a product built around one principle that a person receiving care should never have to choose between getting clean and feeling exposed.

How The Care Cape Works

The product comes in two designs, an open-back version for wheelchair users with limited mobility, and a second with access points that allow carers to assist with washing and dressing while the individual remains covered throughout. Material choice was central to the design process. “We didn’t want something that would cling to the body because that would still make you feel vulnerable,” Callan explained.

Changing Lives Beyond The Care System

The Care Cape’s reach extends well beyond formal care settings. Callan has spoken about using it on an elderly neighbour who, without access to a wet room, had resorted to washing at her kitchen sink. The first shower using the Care Cape was, in Callan’s words, transformative. “I don’t think I’m exaggerating. It was a life-changing moment for her to feel the shower, be in the shower, be comfortable, be washed and cleaned and covered from start to finish. Her dignity was kept intact.”

The founders have also introduced the cape to Michael, a thirteen-year-old wheelchair user whose mother was given one as he approaches adolescence and becomes more conscious of his changing body. It has since become a routine part of his personal care.

A Lean Start-Up With A Large Ambition

L&M Care Solutions self-funded the venture with support from Business Gateway Scotland and a £750 council grant, the only external funding received. Distribution is now expanding through health and social care networks and direct community outreach. “The feedback we’re getting is amazing,” Callan said.

In a UK care sector under sustained workforce pressure, with demand for home-based support continuing to grow, the Care Cape is a reminder that the most impactful innovations are not always the most complex ones.

Could this be the solution you need in the workplace or at home? Discuss the product further with the Care Cape team.