We know three were found dead at Swanage Nursing Home

A 60-year-old woman has been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter following the deaths of three people at a Dorset care home.

Dorset Police confirmed the woman's arrest on Wednesday evening. The investigation into the incident focused on carbon monoxide poisoning as the cause of the residents' deaths.

Dorset Police Commissioner Heather Dixey told the press earlier on Wednesday that there was “no indication” that there was any danger to the public.

Seven people were taken to hospital following the incident at Gainsborough Care Home in Ulwell Road, Swanage, on Wednesday morning.

Here's what we know so far about the incident – and what we don't know.

What we know

Dorset Police said a 60-year-old local woman who was arrested on suspicion of manslaughter on Wednesday night remained in police custody.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Third, of the serious crime investigation team, said: “As part of our investigation we have made an arrest to determine whether there were any grossly negligent acts or omissions and to gather as much information as we can report on what is happening is.”

We know that three people died and seven others were hospitalized following the incident.

Police initially described the incident as “unexplained”, but Dorset Police Superintendent Heather Dixey later confirmed at a press conference that police were considering possible carbon monoxide poisoning as a “principal line of inquiry”.

Katie Lobban, a spokeswoman for Southern Gas Network, confirmed that its engineers were sent to carry out safety checks at the building.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Wednesday morning. South Western Ambulance Service said in a statement that they were called at 5.20am.

Gainsborough Care Home said it had deployed “additional staff resources” to provide support following the incident. Some nursing home residents are said to have been moved to a nearby church.

A spokesman said: “The wellbeing of residents is always our top priority and part of the local business continuity plan was to transfer residents in a controlled manner to a local community center and church where they will remain safe and well.”

“We recognize this is a stressful and worrying time for those involved and have deployed additional staff resources to provide support on site. We contact and inform the families of the residents.

“We will continue to work with relevant local authorities to return residents to their homes at the earliest opportunity and will provide further updates in due course.”

The care home, run by Agincare, has 48 residents, all elderly and some with dementia.

South Dorset MP Lloyd Hatton told BBC Radio 5 Live: “It will certainly hit the whole community hard. Swanage is a small, close-knit coastal town and I know people will be devastated by the news that three people have sadly passed away.

“I think it's really important that we allow the police and all other emergency services to carry out their investigations that are already underway so that they can give us a fuller picture of what's going on here.”

Councilman Gary Suttle called the incident a “tragic event.”

In a statement to X, the Diocese of Salisbury said it was “praying for the residents and staff” of the care home.

What we don't know

We do not know the identity of the woman who was arrested or what connection, if any, she had to the nursing home.

While Dorset Police said they were investigating possible carbon monoxide poisoning. The focus of the investigation is that the nature of the incident or its possible cause has not yet been confirmed.

The identities of the three people who were confirmed to have died were not revealed. It is also not known whether they were employees, residents, visitors or in the building for another reason.

There is no current information available about the condition and identities of the seven people hospitalized or the possible injuries they sustained.

Councilor Suttle said the evacuated nursing home residents were initially taken to All Saint's Church, near the scene of the crime, and would be moved to other locations. We do not know what condition these residents are in and where they will be relocated.

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