The Meadows

Ownership and company checks

The Meadows is run by Optima Care Limited (company 02768075), incorporated in 1992, 32 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.

The local picture

Choice is wide here: the 25 nearest other care homes are all within 3 miles, 16 of them rated Good or Outstanding, and the closest is Whitebirch Lodge, under 0.5 miles away.

It is registered for needs that fewer services nearby cover: learning disabilities (7 of the nearest 25); mental health conditions (3 of the nearest 25).

It sits in Heron ward, classed by ONS as urban (further from a major town or city), among the 20% 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 (5 min), a pharmacy (6 min), a shop (4 min), a park (5 min), a café (4 min), a bus stop (4 min) and a railway station (8 min), which matters for residents who can go out and for visiting family.

What it may cost

We estimate The Meadows 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.

If savings are under the upper limit (£23,250 in England), Kent Council may pay part of the cost after a free care needs assessment.