England

Rated:GoodNursing

Elstow Manor

Elstow Manor, Bedford Road, Bedford, MK42 6FZ

01234676766

Care Type

Nursing Care

Assessment date

24 June 2025

Provider

Hamberley Care (Wixams) Limited

Beds

80 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 29 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 2 are rated higher by CQC, 23 are the same and 4 are lower.

6 of these nearby homes have been inspected more recently than this one.

Based on CQC ratings, updated 22 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

Requires ImprovementDec 2022
GoodJul 2025

Improved from Requires Improvement to Good in 2025.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

This is the only care home Hamberley Care (Wixams) Limited runs in England.

Average care home fees in the East of England: £1,034 a week for residential care and £1,411 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

NHS-funded Nursing Care pays £267.68 a week to the home towards registered nursing care for eligible residents (2026/27). A quoted fee may already exclude it.
This home lists dementia care, which usually costs more than standard residential care. See dementia care home costs. NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply where someone's needs are primarily health needs.
How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Elstow Manor

Elstow Manor is a nursing home in Bedford, providing care for older people, including those living with dementia or physical disabilities. The findings below set out what CQC inspectors most recently found there.

Elstow Manor is a residential care home providing nursing and personal care for up to 80 older people, including those living with dementia or physical disabilities. Around 41 people were living there when inspectors visited, and the CQC rated the service Good overall, with an outstanding rating for how caring it is.

Previous concerns about safe care, person-centred support and governance had been resolved, and inspectors found no ongoing breaches. Medicines and risks were well managed, staff were well trained and supported, and people spoke warmly of feeling at home, safe and genuinely cared for by attentive, engaged staff.

Source: CQC assessment, 23 July 2025

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder peopleYounger adults

Facilities & Amenities

GardenDining RoomCommunal LoungeCafe BarHairdresser

Photographs of the home

Practical details from the provider

Bedrooms have en-suite walk-in showers and can be personalised. A private dining room is available for family occasions.
Shared spaces include Brannigan's Bistro, an activity lounge, cinema room and gardens.

Published on the provider's website, checked 20 September 2026. Confirm arrangements with the home before deciding.

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service: Care home service with nursing
Registered capacity: 80 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked: Registered · MK42 6FZ

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Caring for adults under 65 yrs; Dementia.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Good.

Assessment published 23 July 2025. Assessment date recorded: 24 June 2025.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 23 July 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment 1 to 8 July 2025. Elstow Manor is a residential care home with nursing provision. The service supports older people who may be living with dementia, physical disabilities or nursing needs. The service can support up to 80 people. At the start of our assessment, 41 people were living at the service.
At our last inspection the provider was in breach of legal regulations in relation to safe care and treatment, person-centred care and governance. At this inspection we found enough improvements had been made and the provider was no longer in breach of legal regulations.
The service was in the process of making further improvements to some people's care plans to ensure consistency and how they evidenced how they had assessed peoples' mental capacity. We did not find this had impacted people while improvements were underway, and overall, people's care plans contained person-centred information about how they needed to be supported with their health and care needs.
People were safeguarded from the risk of abuse. Medicines and risks to people's health and safety were well managed. The environment was safe, clean, and well-presented. Staff were recruited safely, received training relevant to their roles and were supported with their continued professional development. Staff told us they felt valued and able to raise concerns with leaders. When the service had identified changes to people's health and care needs, they worked with external health professionals and sought medical advice appropriately. There was a positive, person-centred, learning culture within the service. A staff member said, “I wanted to give [Registered Manager] time to be able to make an impact. I am so proud of everyone. Everyone is muscling in together to make things better and improve the service I get so much job satisfaction out of it. I have such a range of things I do here, and no two days are the same. I love the variation of the role.”

Safe: Good
Effective: Good
Caring: Outstanding
Responsive: Good
Well-led: Good

Read Elstow Manor's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Elstow Manor, consider asking...

1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Elstow Manor, look out for...

1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Elstow Manor's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Find out if the NHS could fund these fees