A 60-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter after three people were found dead at a care home in Dorset.
Seven more people were taken to hospital, whilst dozens of other residents were evacuated from the Gainsborough care home in Swanage to a nearby church while other spaces in care homes were found for them.
The suspect was arrested just hours after Dorset Police said the deaths were being treated as “unexplained” and possible carbon monoxide poisoning is the “primary line of inquiry”.
Announcing the arrest, Detective Chief Inspector Neil Third, of the Major Crime Investigation Team, said: “Our heartfelt thoughts and condolences are with the families and loved ones of those who tragically died and they are being supported by officers.
Police in attendance at the care homeGetty“As part of our investigation, we have made one arrest to enable us to establish whether there have been actions or omissions which are grossly negligent and gather as much information as we can about what has happened.
“It is important to note that the arrest process also provides certain legal protection to individuals and I would ask for the media and public to avoid speculating any further now that legal proceedings are active.
“We know that the residents of Swanage will be feeling the impact of this incident immensely and we would like to thank everyone for the care and respect that has been shown throughout the day.
“Our local neighbourhood policing team will be on hand to provide support – we know this is a difficult time and we are doing all we can to minimise the impact on the community while we conduct enquiries in the area.”
Emergency services are seen at All Saints church hall where the residents were evacuated to after the incident at Gainsborough Care Home
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Fifteen ambulances, fire crews and police officers rushed to the scene in Ulwell Road in Swanage, Dorset, at 7.16am.
Dorset Police confirmed there was no risk to the wider public.
The care home, run by Agincare, has 48 residents, all elderly and some suffering from dementia.
Chief Superintendent Heather Dixey, from Dorset police, said: “Seven people have been taken to hospital as a precaution and other residents have been evacuated. The deaths are being treated as unexplained and we are continuing to work with our partner agencies to ascertain the full circumstances as to what has happened.”
A spokesperson for Gainsborough Care Home said: “An incident involving the care home took place this morning, and we have been closely working with the lead agencies to manage the welfare of all concerned.
“The wellbeing of residents is always our overriding priority, and part of the local business continuity plan was to transfer residents in a managed way to a local village hall and church, where they remain safe and well.
“We appreciate that this is a stressful and worrying time for those involved, and have allocated extra staffing resources to provide support locally. We are contacting and updating residents’ families.
“We will continue to work with the lead local authority services to return residents into their home at the earliest opportunity, and will provide further updates in due course.”