SafeAre people protected from abuse and avoidable harm?56%Requires improvement
See the breakdownHide the breakdown5 of 8 below good
Medicines optimisationSignificant shortfalls
Involving people to manage risksSome shortfalls
Learning cultureSome shortfalls
Safe environmentsSome shortfalls
SafeguardingSome shortfalls
Infection prevention and controlGood
Safe and effective staffingGood
Safe systems, pathways and transitionsGood
EffectiveDoes care achieve good outcomes and a good quality of life?58%Requires improvement
See the breakdownHide the breakdown4 of 6 below good
Assessing needsSome shortfalls
Delivering evidence-based care and treatmentSome shortfalls
Monitoring and improving outcomesSome shortfalls
Supporting people to live healthier livesSome shortfalls
Consent to care and treatmentGood
How staff, teams and services work togetherGood
CaringAre staff kind, compassionate and respectful?70%Good
See the breakdownHide the breakdown1 of 5 below good
Responding to people's immediate needsSome shortfalls
Independence, choice and controlGood
Kindness, compassion and dignityGood
Treating people as individualsGood
Workforce wellbeing and enablementGood
ResponsiveAre services organised to meet people's needs?61%Requires improvement
See the breakdownHide the breakdown3 of 7 below good
Care provision, integration and continuitySignificant shortfalls
Person-centred careSome shortfalls
Providing InformationSome shortfalls
Equity in accessGood
Equity in experiences and outcomesGood
Listening to and involving peopleGood
Planning for the futureGood
Well-ledIs the home well managed, with a culture of high-quality care?57%Requires improvement
See the breakdownHide the breakdown4 of 7 below good
Governance, management and sustainabilitySignificant shortfalls
Capable, compassionate and inclusive leadersSome shortfalls
Learning, improvement and innovationSome shortfalls
Partnerships and communitiesSome shortfalls
Freedom to speak upGood
Shared direction and cultureGood
Workforce equality, diversity and inclusionGood
Percentages are CQC scores from its newer way of assessing homes. ?
CQC scored 33 standards: 16 good, 17 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. ?
CQC's register shows no registered manager for this home. Every care home must have one. The home may be recruiting, or a new manager may be applying to CQC. ?
Hardwick Dene is in the Requires improvement tier ?, with 9 other homes in Cambridgeshire.
92% of rated homes here are Good or Outstanding (England: 82%).
Hardwick Dene is a 50-bed residential care home in St Neots, Cambridgeshire. The home is its own registered provider. Its CQC registration covers older people, people with dementia and younger adults.
CQC last rated the home in August 2026, giving it Requires improvement overall. It was Requires improvement for safe, effective, responsive and well-led as well. Caring was rated Good. Its previous rating, in January 2018, was Good, so the home has slipped. The typical rating in Cambridgeshire is about 7 years old, so this one is fairly recent. Of the 33 standards CQC scored, 17 fell below good. The lowest was “care provision, integration and continuity” (significant shortfalls).
CQC's register shows no registered manager at the moment. Montague House, 3.0 km away, is the closest home rated Good. In Cambridgeshire, 92% of rated care homes are Good or Outstanding (England 82%). Food hygiene inspectors scored the kitchen 5 out of 5 in September 2025. That is true of 88% of homes in Cambridgeshire.
