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Hardwick DeneCambridgeshire

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Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

Hardwick Dene

Hardwick Lane, Buckden, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 5UN
01480811322
Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

12 June 2026

Provider

Hardwick Dene Ltd

Beds

50 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 8 care homes for older people within 5 miles, 7 are rated higher by CQC, 1 is the same and none are lower.

1 of these nearby homes has 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

  1. Requires ImprovementMar 2016
  2. Requires ImprovementDec 2016
  3. Requires ImprovementJun 2017
  4. GoodJan 2018
  5. Requires ImprovementAug 2026

Rating dropped from Good to Requires Improvement in 2026. CQC has rated this home 5 times since 2016.

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 Hardwick Dene Ltd 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.

  • 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 Hardwick Dene

Hardwick Dene is a residential care home located in Cambridgeshire, East of England. Its registered care categories include dementia, older people, and younger adults. The home has 50 beds. CQC records an overall rating of Requires Improvement, published in August 2026. The home is operated by Hardwick Dene Ltd.

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder peopleYounger adults

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 without nursing
Registered capacity
50 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked
Registered · PE19 5UN

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: Requires Improvement.

Assessment published 14 August 2026. Assessment date recorded: 12 June 2026.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 14 August 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of inspection: 25 June 2026 to 7 July 2026.

This was an unannounced comprehensive inspection carried out between 25 June 2026 and 7 July 2026 by 2 Adult Social Care Inspectors and a Medicines Inspector. We carried out this inspection in response to concerns we had received about the service and because it had not been inspected for some time.

Hardwick Dene is a residential care home providing accommodation and personal care for up to 50 people. At the time of the inspection, 43 people were living at the service. The service had a registered manager, supported by 2 deputy managers, senior care staff and a Director of Care and Governance. Arrangements were in place to ensure there was a management presence within the service each day.

The inspection identified concerns relating to risk management, clinical oversight, care planning, medicines management, record keeping and governance. People's risks were not always effectively assessed, monitored or managed, and care records did not consistently reflect people's needs, known risks or the care they had received. We also identified concerns relating to wound management, the management of long-term health conditions, falls management, end of life care planning and medicines oversight. These issues had not been consistently identified or addressed through the provider's governance arrangements.

Following feedback during the inspection, the provider engaged positively with the inspection process and took prompt action to address the concerns identified. This included reviewing care records, introducing additional monitoring tools and strengthening management oversight. Although we found evidence that some improvements had been implemented during the inspection period, they had not yet become fully embedded in practice and further work was required to demonstrate sustained improvement.

We identified 2 breaches of regulation during this inspection. We have asked the provider to submit an action plan setting out how they will address the concerns identified and achieve sustained compliance.

Safe
Requires Improvement
Effective
Requires Improvement
Caring
Good
Responsive
Requires Improvement
Well-led
Requires Improvement

Questions prompted by these ratings

  • Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
  • Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?
  • Responsive: How are care plans, activities and complaints adapted to each resident?
  • Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read Hardwick Dene'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 Hardwick Dene, consider asking...

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

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Hardwick Dene, look out for...

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

Could the NHS fund Hardwick Dene'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.

Location

Hardwick Lane, Buckden, St Neots, Cambridgeshire, PE19 5UN

CQC Logo

Hardwick Dene

CQC overall rating

Requires Improvement

Assessment date: 12 June 2026

View full inspection report
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