A cockroach infestation was found at a care home just weeks after an inspection rated it ‘inadequate’.

Forest Care Village Elstree and Borehamwood in Cardinal Avenue received the Care Quality Commission’s lowest rating after an inspection in December by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) on December 5.

The care home was rated inadequate for safety, responsiveness, and leadership but it later emerged that the home was infested with cockroaches.

Environmental officers were forced to serve a Hygiene Emergency Prohibition notice on January 11, while inspectors also issued an urgent enforcement notice to restrict any further admissions into the care home after their inspection took place.

The home had 161 residents at the time of inspection, including people living with dementia.

Jemima Burnage, CQC’s head of inspection for adult social care in the central region, said: “Inspectors found the service was failing to provide safe care to people. Staff had limited knowledge of people’s care needs and were not always aware of risks to people’s health and wellbeing.

“For example, some people were at risk of choking or not receiving sufficient nutrition. Many of the concerns we found were a result of the management team not insuring people were receiving safe and effective care which met their needs.

“The service must ensure it takes robust action to ensure improvements are made and we will continue to monitor the home closely. This will include further inspections.”

A spokesman from Forest Care Village said: “It is deeply disappointing to receive this rating from the CQC, particularly as our service was rated ‘good’ on all areas 12 months earlier.

“Since the visit, our team has worked tirelessly creating and implementing a detailed, responsive plan of retraining, support programmes and supervision so that we can confidently say that Forest Care Village is a safe and caring place for all of our residents.

“We look forward to welcoming inspectors from CQC back to see the improvements we continue to make at Forest Care Village.”