Coronavirus: Police probe three deaths at Skye care home

Home Farm care home

Ten residents have died at Home Farm in Portree

The deaths of three women at a care home on Skye at the centre of a coronavirus outbreak are being investigated by police.

Ten residents at Home Farm care home in Portree have died in the outbreak.

Police Scotland said they were looking into the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three women - aged 84, 86 and 88 - at the home.

The investigation comes after the Care Inspectorate raised serious concerns about the care offered at the home.

The watchdog began legal action to remove owners HC-One as care providers earlier this month.

'Complaints'

A decision on the home's future has been deferred until next month after NHS Highland was brought in to effectively run the facility.

The Care Inspectorate brought the action after all but four of the home's 34 residents and 29 staff contracted Covid-19.

In a statement, Police Scotland said: "We can confirm we are investigating the circumstances of the deaths of three women, aged 84, 86 and 88, at Home Farm care home on Skye. Inquires are continuing."

A spokeswoman for HC-One said they were committed to cooperating fully with any investigations into the coronavirus-related deaths and apologised for any failings.

She added: "We recognised that improvements were needed at Home Farm and therefore apologise to our residents, their families, and the local community.

"The safety and wellbeing of our residents is our top priority and we have already made significant progress. We are continuing to make sustained and continued improvements across the home so we can deliver the very best for residents and colleagues at Home Farm."

The investigation, reported in the Scottish Mail on Sunday, comes as Police Scotland also said it was investigating complaints at a home in East Dunbartonshire.

The force said complaints had been made regarding Springvale home in Lennoxtown. However, the force said the investigation was unrelated to any deaths at the home and was not connected to Covid-19.