Three people confirmed dead in incident at Swanage care home
Emergency services were called to Ulwell Road this morning (23rd October)
Last updated 23rd Oct 2024
It's been confirmed three people have died following an incident at a care home in Swanage.
Seven other people have been taken to hospital after police, fire and ambulance crews were called to Ulwell Road earlier this morning (Wednesday 23rd October).
Police say their 'primary line of enquiry' is that the incident is a result of carbon monoxide poisoning.
Chief Superintendent Heather Dixey said:
“At 7.16am on Wednesday 23 October 2024 we received a report regarding three residents who had been found deceased at the Gainsborough Care Home in Ulwell Road.
“This prompted a large multi-agency emergency response involving officers from Dorset Police, Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service and South Western Ambulance Service.
“The Coroner and the families of those who have died were informed and our heart-felt thoughts and condolences go out to them during this extremely difficult time. Seven people have been taken to hospital as a precaution and other residents of the address have been evacuated to a location where they can receive appropriate care. They are being supported by Dorset Council and the health service.
“The deaths are currently being treated as unexplained and we are continuing to liaise with our partner agencies to establish the full circumstances of what has happened.
“A significant multi-agency presence will remain in the area – including a police cordon – as we work with our partners to carry out an investigation.
“Following early enquiries, I can confirm that potential carbon monoxide poisoning is our primary line of enquiry, but I would stress that there is nothing to indicate that there is currently any risk to the wider public.
“Swanage is a close-knit community and I know these very sad deaths will have a significant impact on everyone here. I would like to thank members of the community for the respect, care and kindness they have shown towards one another, with many of them going out of their way to offer help and support to those who have been affected.
“We will continue to provide updates in relation to our investigation as and when we can and I would like to ask the public to refrain from any speculation out of respect for all those affected today.”
The Gainsborough care home is run by Agincare - they've shared a statement:
"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."
A spokesperson for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) said:
“We were called at 5:20am this morning (23 October) to an incident at a care home in Swanage. We sent a Hazardous Area Response Team, ten double-crewed land ambulances, as well as a significant number of additional resources.
"Two patients were conveyed by land ambulance to Poole Hospital.”
Crews from Dorset & Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service are at the scene.
Group manager, Neil Tidball said: “We currently have four fire crews on scene from Swanage, Wareham, Westbourne, Poole, a support vehicle from Dorchester along with two crews from Winchester (Hampshire and IOW FRS)."
"Firefighters are working with Dorset Police, South West Ambulance Service and other partners to resolve this incident.”
A spokesperson for SGN told us:
"We were called to Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage earlier today in our capacity as the National Gas Emergency Service for the south of England.
"Our engineers are waiting for access to the building to complete safety checks.
"Our thoughts are with everyone who has been affected by this tragic incident."