Care home · Westgate On Sea
The Chilterns
Illustrative photo, not of The Chilterns- Address
- 5-9 Sea Road, Westgate On Sea, CT8 8SA
- Run by
- Optima Care Limited (5 services)
- Service
- Nursing home
- Beds
- 24 (registered with CQC)
- Registered with CQC
- March 2014 (12 years)
- Registered manager
- Joanna Louise Sperrin
- Company check
- Active, trading since 1992 (33 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 02768075)
- Last CQC check
- 9 Sep 2021
- Typical fees Estimated
- £1,650–£2,010 a week for nursing care. Estimated from prices published locally; not a quote. How we estimate
Registered to provide: Accommodation for persons who require nursing or personal care · Treatment of disease, disorder or injury
CQC page for this service · CQC location ID 1-1293681109
The Chilterns at a glance
The Chilterns in Westgate On Sea is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a nursing home, run by Optima Care Limited. The service is registered to support adults of all ages and lists mental health conditions among its specialisms.
CQC rated it Requires improvement overall (September 2021). Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led were rated Requires improvement. It is one of 32 CQC-registered care homes in and around Margate; 22 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.
The ratings in context
For The Chilterns, Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led are rated below Good.
Across Kent, 92 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Safe (20%), while 45 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Effective (10%), while 25 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Caring (5%), while 35 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Responsive (8%), while 110 of 465 rated care homes are Requires improvement for Well-led (24%).
The Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive and Well-led findings are the part of the report to read closely; ask the manager what has been put right.
History with CQC
The Chilterns has been registered with CQC since March 2014, about 12 years.
CQC has published 6 overall ratings for it (2015–2021), starting at Requires improvement; it has gone up 1 and down 1 time, and is now Requires improvement.
The rating is 5 years old. CQC decides when to return based on risk, so age alone is not a warning sign; still, ask who the manager is now.
There are 6 CQC reports on file for this address; the newest is from 9 September 2021.
Budgeting for this home
We estimate The Chilterns at £1,650–£2,010 a week for nursing care, based on published prices in the region. Over a year that is roughly £86k–£105k.
If nursing care is needed, the NHS pays a weekly NHS-funded nursing care contribution directly to the home, whoever pays the rest.
People with savings under £23,250 may get help from Kent Council after a needs and financial assessment.
How it fits locally
Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 17 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is Eaton Lodge Nursing Home, under 0.5 miles away.
It is registered for needs that fewer services nearby cover: mental health conditions (5 of the nearest 25).
15 of the 23 nearest rated care homes have a more recent rating than this one.
It sits in Westgate-on-Sea ward, classed by ONS as urban (further from a major town or city), among the 30% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Kent and Medway ICB.
Within about a 10-minute walk there is a GP surgery (3 min), a pharmacy (4 min), a shop (3 min), a park (2 min), a café (3 min), a bus stop (1 min) and a railway station (4 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.
The company behind The Chilterns
The Chilterns is run by Optima Care Limited (company 02768075), incorporated in 1992, 21 years before this service registered with CQC.
At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 1 active director and there is no insolvency history.
Its registered business activity is residential care for older and disabled people.
Optima Care Limited runs 5 CQC-registered services; 0 of the 4 with a rating are Good or Outstanding (0%), against 83% for the same mix of services across England.
All 5 are in Kent, so it is a local operator rather than a national chain.
Ratings over time
- Oct 2015
- Sep 2016
- Oct 2017
- Sep 2018
- May 2021
- Sep 2021
- Today Rating 5 years old
The location's rating record from CQC, from first to latest. The latest rating is an improvement on the one before.
CQC reports
- CQC inspection report 9 September 2021
- CQC inspection report 21 May 2021
- CQC inspection report 28 September 2018
- CQC inspection report 4 October 2017
- CQC inspection report 24 September 2016
- CQC inspection report 15 October 2015
Food hygiene
The kitchen has a food hygiene rating of 5 (very good), from an inspection on 10 December 2025 by Thanet. Ask how special diets are handled and whether residents can eat when they like.
From the Food Standards Agency (listed as "The Chilterns"). Open Government Licence.
Location and local area
- Ward
- Westgate-on-Sea
- Council
- Kent County Council · paying for care
- Parliamentary constituency
- Herne Bay and Sandwich
- Integrated care board
- NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
- Setting
- Urban; further from a major town or city
- Neighbourhood deprivation
- Among the 30% most deprived areas in England
- Postcode district
- Care homes in CT8 (9)
Bigger map · How to get there · Map data: OpenStreetMap contributors
Within walking distance
- Bus stop 90 m (1 min walk) · 12 stops within 600 m
- Railway station Westgate-on-Sea, 350 m (4 min walk)
- GP surgery Westgate Surgery, 230 m (3 min walk)
- Pharmacy Paydens Chemist, 320 m (4 min walk)
- Shop Co-op Food, 280 m (3 min walk)
- Park Adrian Square, 160 m (2 min walk)
- Café The St Mildred's Bay, 260 m (3 min walk)
- Place of worship United Reform Church, 200 m (2 min walk)
- Library Westgate Library, 550 m (7 min walk)
Nearest of each type, measured in a straight line using OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL). If a resident uses a wheelchair or frame, check the route itself.
Ward and NHS boundaries from official postcode data, Open Government Licence.
Who the service is registered for
Specialisms as registered with CQC.
Each area CQC checks
- Safe92 of 465 in Kent
- Effective45 of 465 in Kent
- Caring25 of 465 in Kent
- Responsive35 of 465 in Kent
- Well-led110 of 465 in Kent
As rated by CQC, published 9 September 2021. Under each rating: how many care homes in Kent share it.
Inspection findings in brief
- People told us they were not always happy with the staff supporting them.
- When safeguarding incidents occurred, care plans and risk assessments had not been updated to reflect any changes in risks to the person.
- Care plans and risk assessments did not always contain the information necessary to inform new or agency staff on how best to support people.
- Incidents between people had reduced as a result of people moving on from the service, and a review of staffing.
Inspected 21 July 2021; report published 9 September 2021; supporting 26 people at the time. Source: CQC's published findings, reused under the Open Government Licence. Read the full report.
Family reviews
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The Chilterns against its area
- Rated Requires improvement. Across Kent, 79% of the 464 rated care homes are Good or Outstanding and 18 are Outstanding.
- Its rating (September 2021) is more recent than 44% of care home ratings in Kent.
- With 24 beds it is smaller than 50% of care homes in Kent, where the typical home has 25.
- Registered with CQC in 2014: it has been registered longer than 44% of care homes in the area.
- It lists 3 specialisms with CQC; the typical care home in Kent lists 3.
- Areas CQC rated below Good: Safe (22% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here); Effective (11% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here); Caring (6% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here); Responsive (8% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here); Well-led (26% of care homes in Kent are also rated below Good here). Ask the provider what has changed since.
Compared with every CQC-registered care home in Kent. Source: CQC register, Oct 2026.
Also nearby
Guides for families
Similar care homes near Margate, rated recently
- Avondale HouseJan 2026
- Shottendane Nursing HomeApr 2026
- Treetops Residential HomeMar 2025
What families ask about The Chilterns
- How many beds does The Chilterns have?
- The Chilterns has 24 registered places. Ask how many are free now and which rooms have en-suites.
- Who is the registered provider for The Chilterns?
- On CQC's register the provider is Optima Care Limited.
- How much does care from The Chilterns cost?
- The Chilterns hasn't shared a price list with us. Residential care home typically costs £1,450 a week (average 2026 self-funder fees in South East). Request a written quote and check what is charged on top.
- How did The Chilterns score on each CQC key question?
- The five CQC areas: Safe: Requires improvement; Effective: Requires improvement; Caring: Requires improvement; Responsive: Requires improvement; Well-led: Requires improvement. Start with Safe and Well-led when reading the report.
- What type of care does The Chilterns provide?
- The Chilterns is registered with CQC for: nursing homes. Ask the provider which needs it can meet now and as needs change.
- Where is The Chilterns based?
- It is at 5-9 Sea Road, Westgate On Sea, CT8 8SA.
- Is The Chilterns a registered provider?
- It is. The CQC register records The Chilterns as a care home, location ID 1-1293681109 and was rated Requires improvement overall in September 2021.
- Can The Chilterns care for someone with dementia?
- Not as a registered specialism. Some services still support people with mild dementia, so ask.
- When did CQC last rate The Chilterns?
- Its current CQC rating dates from 9 September 2021, 5 years ago. Ratings can be several years old; ask what has changed since, such as a new manager.
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Information: Care Quality Commission, Oct 2026 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Sections in the provider's own words are theirs; we compiled everything else from public data. The Care Panel is independent and not a care provider.