Latest news with #GainsboroughCareHome
The Guardian
13-05-2025
- The Guardian
Police end investigation into three deaths at Dorset care home
Police have concluded that two residents found dead at a Dorset care home died of natural causes but an inquest will be held to establish the cause of a third death. The deaths of the two men and one woman led to all residents at the Gainsborough care home in Swanage being evacuated amid fears the three may have suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Seven months on Dorset police said they had concluded that a 74-year-old man and the 86-year-old woman died of natural causes with carbon monoxide poisoning ruled out. The force said officers believed the cause of death for the third person, a 91-year-old man, was believed to be 'unnatural' but their investigations had not revealed any third-party involvement or contribution of environmental factors that required further police investigation. It will be down to a coroner to examine the circumstances of his death. Police received a report at 7.16am on Wednesday 23 October 2024 that there had been three unexplained deaths at the care home in Ulwell Road. In a statement, the police said: 'Due to the unusual circumstances involving three deaths occurring in close succession and no immediate confirmed cause of the deaths, a multi-agency response was instigated and an investigation was launched, led by detectives from Dorset police's major crime investigation team. 'Information presented to police during the early stages of the incident indicated a possible link to the presence of carbon monoxide. Following this information, a 60-year-old local woman was arrested. 'Within a short space of time, detectives were able to rule out a leak of carbon monoxide from the care home's boiler or any other gas appliances. A thorough examination of the scene also ruled out any other apparent environmental factors that may have contributed to the deaths. 'Once these enquiries had concluded, the arrested woman was immediately released from the investigation without charge.' Since then detailed forensic pathology work has been carried out to try to establish the cause of the deaths. DCI Neil Third, of Dorset police, said: 'We were duty bound, and indeed the public would expect us, to fully investigate the circumstances of the deaths. All agencies worked closely together and the relevant experts were consulted. 'At the forefront of our minds have been the families of the three individuals involved, as we have conducted exhaustive enquiries into the full circumstances of the deaths of their loved ones. We have kept them fully updated and would like to thank them for the way they have conducted themselves over recent months as we carried out a range of complex enquiries.'
Daily Mail
13-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Three care home deaths on same night that sparked manslaughter investigation and arrest were tragic coincidence, police reveal
The deaths of three elderly residents at a care home that led to a woman being arrested for manslaughter were a tragic coincidence, it has been revealed. Dorset Police have confirmed that a 74-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman died from natural causes on the same night at the Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage. The death on the same night of the third resident, a 91-year-old man, remains unexplained, although police said there was no third-party involvement or 'contribution of any environmental factors' linked to the death. The emergency services rushed to the care home that caters for dementia sufferers at 7.17am on October 23 last year after the three residents were found dead in their rooms. At the time it was feared that carbon monoxide poisoning may have been to blame and more than 40 residents and staff were moved out as a precaution. A 60-year-old local woman, believed to be the care home manager, was arrested for manslaughter at the time before later being released without charge when police were satisfied there was no CM poisoning or evidence of neglect. Dorset Police justified the controversial decision to make the arrest, saying that doing so 'provided legal protection' for the suspect. A police spokesperson said: 'Due to the unusual circumstances involving three deaths occurring in close succession and no immediate confirmed cause of the deaths, a multi-agency response was instigated and an investigation was launched. The scene outside All Saints Church close to the care home shows the sheer scale of the response by emergency services on October 23 'Information presented to police during the early stages indicated a possible link to the presence of carbon monoxide. 'Following this information, a 60-year-old local woman was arrested as part of the investigation in order to gather all available evidence and provide legal protection to the individual involved. 'Within a short space of time, detectives were able to rule out a leak of carbon monoxide from the care home's boiler or any other gas appliances. 'A thorough examination of the scene also ruled out any other apparent environmental factors that may have contributed to the deaths. 'Once these enquiries had concluded, the arrested woman was immediately released from the investigation without charge.' Detective Chief Inspector Neil Third, of Dorset Police Major Crime Investigation Team, said: 'Throughout our investigation we have continued to work closely with partner agencies and HM Coroner, and have kept them informed with updates from our findings. 'We were duty bound, and indeed the public would expect us, to fully investigate the circumstances of the deaths. 'All agencies worked closely together and the relevant experts were consulted. 'At the forefront of our minds have been the families of the three individuals involved, as we have conducted exhaustive enquiries into the full circumstances of the deaths of their loved ones. 'We have kept them fully updated and would like to thank them for the way they have conducted themselves over recent months as we carried out a range of complex enquiries. 'We also fully recognise the impact of these deaths and subsequent investigation had on the local community in Swanage and we want to thank residents of the town for the way they have rallied round to support those affected. 'I particularly want to thank residents of the care home and their families, who were displaced as we carried out enquiries at the scene to determine that there was no ongoing risk to the public. 'We have endeavoured to share information with the public wherever possible in relation to our ongoing investigations to be transparent and prevent speculation and misinformation. 'However, it was also important that we did not prejudice any potential findings until all outstanding enquiries had been fully resolved and expert evidence was received that enabled us to reach our conclusions.'
The Independent
12-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Police say no ‘third party involvement' in deaths of three people at care home
Your support helps us to tell the story Read more Support Now From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Read more The death of a 91-year-old man, on the same night as two other elderly residents in a care home, is thought to be unnatural, Dorset Police said. He was found dead along with a 74-year-old man and an 86-year-old woman at Gainsborough Care Home in Ulwell Road, Swanage, after police were called to the scene at 7.16am on October 23 2024. An inquest is to be held, at a date to be set, into the 91-year-old man's death, while tests have shown that the other two residents died from natural causes, a police spokesman said. The force added that 'while the findings indicated the cause of death for the 91-year-old man was believed to be unnatural, inquiries have not revealed any third party involvement or contribution of environmental factors that require further police investigation. Officers will continue to assist HM Coroner during the inquest process'. An investigation, led by Dorset Police's Major Crime Investigation Team (MCIT), was launched along with a multi-agency response due to the unusual circumstances involving three deaths and no immediate confirmed cause. Amid fears of suspected carbon monoxide poisoning, a 60-year-old local woman was arrested as part of the investigation and later released without charge. She was arrested in order to gather all available evidence and provide legal protection to the individual involved, the force said. MCIT Detective Chief Inspector Neil Third said 'a range of complex inquiries' have been carried out as part of the investigation. He said: 'Throughout our investigation we have continued to work closely with partner agencies and HM Coroner, and have kept them informed with updates from our findings. 'We were duty bound, and indeed the public would expect us, to fully investigate the circumstances of the deaths. All agencies worked closely together and the relevant experts were consulted.' Detectives have ruled out a leak of carbon monoxide from the care home's boiler or any other gas appliances. Examination of the scene has also ruled out any 'other apparent environmental factors that may have contributed to the deaths', the spokesman said. DCI Third said: 'At the forefront of our minds have been the families of the three individuals involved, as we have conducted exhaustive inquiries into the full circumstances of the deaths of their loved ones. 'We have kept them fully updated and would like to thank them for the way they have conducted themselves over recent months as we carried out a range of complex inquiries. 'We also fully recognise the impact of these deaths and subsequent investigation had on the local community in Swanage and we want to thank residents of the town for the way they have rallied round to support those affected.' Seven people were taken to hospital as a precaution and were not in a serious condition, the force said at the time. Other residents from the address were evacuated and moved to other homes until they could be returned to the Swanage care home. DCI Third added: 'I particularly want to thank residents of the care home and their families who were displaced as we carried out inquiries at the scene to determine that there was no ongoing risk to the public. 'We have endeavoured to share information with the public wherever possible in relation to our ongoing investigations, to be transparent and prevent speculation and misinformation. 'However, it was also important that we did not prejudice any potential findings until all outstanding inquiries had been fully resolved and expert evidence was received that enabled us to reach our conclusions.'
BBC News
12-05-2025
- Health
- BBC News
Police conclude investigation into Swanage care home deaths
Police have concluded an investigation into the deaths of three care home residents who died in one elderly men and one elderly woman died at Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage on 23 October last residents were evacuated from the home after there were initial fears that carbon monoxide poisoning was the cause of the Police said forensic analysis had found that a 74-year-old man and a 86-year-old woman died of natural causes. The death of a 91-year-old man was believed to be unnatural, the force said, but did not require further police said that the death would be the subject of inquest proceedings, but there was not evidence of third-party involvement or the contribution of any environmental factors. 'No ongoing risk' Following this a 60-year-old local woman, who the BBC understands to be the manager of the care home, was arrested at the time on suspicion of manslaughter and gross Police said its detectives were able to rule out any carbon monoxide leaks and the woman was later released without Chf Insp Neil Third said the families of those who had died were kept "fully updated" throughout the investigation."We also fully recognise the impact of these deaths and subsequent investigation had on the local community in Swanage," he said."And we want to thank residents of the town for the way they have rallied round to support those affected."I particularly want to thank residents of the care home and their families, who were displaced as we carried out enquiries at the scene to determine that there was no ongoing risk to the public." You can follow BBC Dorset on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
