A MAN was stabbed inside a Wickford care home on New Year’s Eve.

Emergency services rushed to Swan Lane at roughly 1pm on Tuesday after reports a man had been injured inside.

A man in his 40s was found inside the home with a stab wound to his back, while a 68-year-old woman from Wickford has been arrested on suspicion of assault occasioning grievous bodily harm.

The care home is believed to be Longcroft Residential Care Home, although the home declined to comment when contacted by the Echo.

It is unclear at this stage whether the victim, or the woman arrested, were residents in the care home.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “We were called shortly after 1pm on Tuesday, December 31, with reports that a man had been injured at a care home on Swan Lane in Wickford.

“Officers and paramedics arrived and a man in his 40s was taken to hospital with a stab wound to his back.

“His injuries are not considered to be life-changing.

“A 68-year-old woman from Wickford has been arrested on suspicion of committing grievous bodily harm and remains in police custody.”

Longcroft Residential Care Home specialises in caring for adults under 65-years-old, caring for people with mental health conditions and offering support to people with substance misuse problems.

The care home is currently rated as “good” by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), which last conducted an inspection in December 2018.

The care home received the good rating in all five key areas for inspection including safety, effectiveness and the level of care.

Staff were praised throughout the report for promoting the independence of residents and were described as “kind, caring and respectful”.

The CQC and Health and Safety Executive were contacted yesterday about what investigations will be carried out alongside the police into what went wrong to allow an incident like this to take place.