Swanage care home: Three residents of Dorset home found dead, four in hospital

Summary

Three people have been found dead after an incident at a Dorset care home, police say
The deaths at the Swanage home are being treated as "unexplained"
Four other people have been taken to hospital as a "precaution"
The other residents of Gainsborough Care Home have been evacuated to a nearby church
Police, fire and ambulance crews are attending - as well as gas company Southern Gas Networks (SGN)
A local councillor says there is a "suspicion" the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide but it has not been proven"

Live Reporting

Edited by Sue Paz, written by Emily Ford and Toby Wadey

Deaths 'hitting the whole community hard' - local MPpublished at 15:20 British Summer Time
MP Lloyd Hatton says the deaths at Gainsborough Care Home will "certainly be hitting the whole community hard".
Speaking to BBC Radio 5Live, the Labour MP for South Dorset says locals will be "devastated" by the news.
Asked if he had an idea of what the cause of the incident might be, Hatton says it is "really important" to give the emergency services space to carry out their inquiries.
Earlier, in a post on X, he thanked the emergency services for their "rapid response" and offered his "heartfelt condolences" to the loved ones of those who have died.
Pictures from the scenepublished at 15:03 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, at the scene in Swanage
Gas engineers seen waiting to enter care homepublished at 14:57 British Summer Time
Media caption,
Three people were found dead at Gainsborough Care Home on Wednesday morning
Diocese offers prayers for those affectedpublished at 14:44 British Summer Time
The Diocese of Salisbury says it prays for those affected by the incident at the care home.
"We pray for the residents and staff of Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage, and for the emergency services responding there today," it says in a post on X.
"Bring comfort, strength, and healing to all in need."
The All Saints Church - where the care home residents were evacuated to - is a member of the diocese.
Firefighters take beds to evacuated care home residentspublished at 14:37 British Summer Time
Media caption,
Firefighters deliver supplies to Gainsborough Care Home residents
Watchdog inspection rated care home 'good in all areas'published at 14:31 British Summer Time
A previous Care Quality Commission (CQC) report on Gainsborough Care Home said it provides personal and nursing care for up to 48 people aged 65 and over.
Its last inspection was published in November 2021, external, when it was rated good in all areas.
The care home looks after people with dementia, mental health conditions, physical disabilities, sensory and mobility issues.
Hear the latest from the scenepublished at 14:26 British Summer Time
Media caption,
BBC Radio Solent's Tristan Pascoe brings the latest from Gainsborough Care Home in Swanage
What we know so far....published at 14:12 British Summer Time
- Three people have been found dead at Gainsborough Care Home this morning
- Four people have also been taken to hospital
- Residents at the care home in Ulwell Road have been evacuated to All Saints Church
- There is a significant presence of emergency services and gas company SGN is also on the scene
- A local councillor has suggested there is a suspicion the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide, but it has not been proven"
Blankets and pillows given to residentspublished at 14:10 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, at the scene in Swanage
Back outside All Saints Church, where the residents have been moved to, care home staff are taking in quilts, blankets and pillows.
Ambulance workers and care home staff are also taking in bottles of water and pints of milk.
Elsewhere, a community support office is stopping care home staff from talking to members of the media.
A man was ready to talk but she pulled him away.
More firefighters arrive on scenepublished at 13:53 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, at the scene in Swanage
Emergency service vehicles are heading in and out of Ulwell Road.
More firefighters have turned up in the last 10 minutes and are putting gear on.
'Suspicion' carbon monoxide could be linked to deathspublished at 13:51 British Summer Time
Councillor Gary Suttle said there was a "suspicion" the deaths "could be attributable to carbon monoxide but it has not been proven".
The Swanage ward member at Dorset Council added: "I have been told by (Dorchester) social services there was a critical incident at the home."
A spokesperson for gas network company, SGN, has previously confirmed to the BBC that engineers were called to the care home this morning.
Katie Lobban said SGN was working in its capacity as the National Gas Emergency Service for the south of England.
She added: "Our engineers are waiting for access to the building to complete safety checks."
Where in the UK is the care home?published at 13:48 British Summer Time
Wellbeing of residents 'overriding priority', care home sayspublished at 13:44 British Summer Time
A care home spokeswoman has confirmed an incident happened there this morning and that staff had been "closely working" with lead agencies.
She said they were managing the welfare of all those concerned, with the wellbeing of residents "always our overriding priority".
Quote Message
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.
Gainsborough Care Home, Spokesperson
Pictures show scale of emergency responsepublished at 13:41 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, in Swanage
'Significant' multi-agency presence to remain on scenepublished at 13:33 British Summer Time
Here's more on that statement from a Dorset Police spokesperson: "Other residents of the address have been evacuated to a safe location as emergency services respond to the incident.
"There remains a significant multi-agency presence in place at the address and a cordon remains in place as we work with partners to carry out further enquiries. At this time there is nothing to indicate any risk to the wider public.
Quote Message
We understand this incident will have a significant impact on the Swanage community and our thoughts are very much with the families of those who have sadly died at this extremely difficult time."
Dorset Police spokesperson
Councillor shares condolences after 'tragic event'published at 13:31 British Summer Time
Councillor Gary Suttle called the Gainsborough Care Home incident a "tragic event".
The Dorset councillor said: "Our condolences and sympathy are with those who have lost their lives."
He added the other residents were "safe and going to be relocated".
Mr Suttle said residents of the care home were initially taken to All Saints Church, near the scene in Ulwell Road, and would now be moved to other placements.
He spoke of local residents "kindly" coming into the church bringing blankets in acts of "great community support".
He added: "We hope the fire brigade will be able to confirm the building will be safe to enter in about 30 minutes."
Deaths being treated as 'unexplained', police saypublished at 13:22 British Summer Time
A statement from Dorset Police said officers were called at about 07:15 BST after three people were "found deceased" at the care home in Ulwell Road, Swanage.
A force spokesperson said the deaths were being treated as "unexplained" and an investigation has been launched.
"Inquiries are being carried out to establish the full circumstances and we are continuing to liaise with our partner agencies," they continued.
"The families of those who have died have been informed and the coroner has been notified."
Four other people have been taken to hospital as a precaution, they added.
Three people died at care homepublished at 13:17 British Summer Time
Breaking
Three people were found dead at the care home this morning, police have confirmed.
Someone taken to ambulance from churchpublished at 13:14 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, at the scene in Swanage
Two ambulance crew have just taken someone from the All Saints Church, where the care home residents were evacuated to, to an ambulance.
They are thought to be one of the residents.
Beds moved to church after care home evacuationpublished at 12:57 British Summer Time
Sophie Cridland
BBC South, at the scene in Swanage
Residents of the care home have been evacuated to the nearby All Saints Church.
The emergency services are taking medical equipment and beds inside.
There are a number of ambulances, equipment support unit vans and a Southern Gas Network Van parked outside the church.
Dorset Police officers are also present.
Residents have been seen carrying in bacon rolls and other foods wrapped in tin foil.