SafeAre people protected from abuse and avoidable harm?72%Good
See the breakdownHide the breakdown1 of 8 below good
Medicines optimisationSome shortfalls
Infection prevention and controlGood
Involving people to manage risksGood
Learning cultureGood
Safe and effective staffingGood
Safe environmentsGood
Safe systems, pathways and transitionsGood
SafeguardingGood
EffectiveDoes care achieve good outcomes and a good quality of life?75%Good
See the breakdownHide the breakdownAll 6 good
Assessing needsGood
Consent to care and treatmentGood
Delivering evidence-based care and treatmentGood
How staff, teams and services work togetherGood
Monitoring and improving outcomesGood
Supporting people to live healthier livesGood
CaringAre staff kind, compassionate and respectful?90%★Outstanding
See the breakdownHide the breakdown3 of 5 exceptional
Responding to people's immediate needsGood
Workforce wellbeing and enablementGood
Independence, choice and controlExceptional
Kindness, compassion and dignityExceptional
Treating people as individualsExceptional
ResponsiveAre services organised to meet people's needs?75%Good
See the breakdownHide the breakdownAll 7 good
Care provision, integration and continuityGood
Equity in accessGood
Equity in experiences and outcomesGood
Listening to and involving peopleGood
Person-centred careGood
Planning for the futureGood
Providing InformationGood
Well-ledIs the home well managed, with a culture of high-quality care?89%★Outstanding
See the breakdownHide the breakdown4 of 7 exceptional
Capable, compassionate and inclusive leadersGood
Governance, management and sustainabilityGood
Workforce equality, diversity and inclusionGood
Freedom to speak upExceptional
Learning, improvement and innovationExceptional
Partnerships and communitiesExceptional
Shared direction and cultureExceptional
Percentages are CQC scores from its newer way of assessing homes. ?
CQC scored 33 standards: 25 good, 7 exceptional, 1 below good. Use “See the breakdown” on each key question for its standards. ?
CQC hasn't inspected this home for more than 5 years. It re-inspects based on risk, so an old rating doesn't count against a home on this site, but it may not reflect the home today. ?
Birchwood is one of 125 care homes in Buckinghamshire: a 15-bed residential care home in Chesham, run by Salutem LD BidCo IV Limited. Its CQC registration covers older people, younger adults, people with a physical disability, people with a learning disability or autism and people with a sensory impairment. That is smaller than most homes in Buckinghamshire, where the typical home has 30 beds.
It is one of 19 homes run by Salutem LD BidCo IV Limited. 16 of those with a rating are Good or Outstanding. It is the only Outstanding home among the 7 closest. Across Buckinghamshire, 73% of rated homes are Good or Outstanding, against 82% for England. Food hygiene inspectors scored the kitchen 5 out of 5 in August 2026. 90% of homes in Buckinghamshire also score 5.
The current CQC rating is Outstanding, published in February 2026. It was Outstanding for caring and well-led as well. For safe, effective and responsive, the rating was Good. Before that, in May 2023, it was rated Inadequate. The typical rating in Buckinghamshire is about 6 years old, so this one is fairly recent. Of the 33 standards CQC scored, 1 fell below good. The lowest was “medicines optimisation” (some shortfalls).
