Police await post-mortem after care home deaths

POLICE investigating a Covid-19 outbreak at a Westcountry care home said last night they are awaiting post-mortem results following the deaths of three residents.

Devon and Cornwall Police are leading the investigation into Holmesley Care Home in Sidford, near Sidmouth, along with other agencies, including the Care Quality Commission.

According to a police update, officers are waiting for the results of an autopsy on one of the bodies, while investigations concerning the other two deceased residents are also continuing.

ATHIRD death has been confirmed at a Devon care home which is currently at the centre of a police and health investigation, following an extensive outbreak of coronavirus.

Holmesley Care Home in Fortescue Road, Sidmouth, has refused to disclose how many of its residents and staff have tested positive for Covid-19, or why it is under investigation by the authorities.

However, it is believed that confirmed case numbers have risen since it was reported earlier this week that as many as 33 alleged positive tests were recorded in the space of three days.

Of the latest two deaths, it is thought at least one of the residents was receiving end-of-life care before being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Residents and staff at the care home had already received their first vaccination, and it is believed they were due their second vaccination this weekend. The care home had 42 residents living there in September 2020.

An inspection was carried out at the care home last month after concerns were raised with health and social care regulator the Care Quality Commission (CQC). The outcome of its inspection is yet to be published.

Rob Assall, deputy chief inspector of adult social care in London and the South, said Devon and Cornwall Police were leading the investigation.

He went on: “While CQC is working with our partner agencies during this investigation, we are also examining what other information we currently hold and will consider what further action we may wish to take.

“Due to concerns raised to CQC, inspectors visited Holmesley Care Home on February 19 and 26, 2021, and our findings will be published in due course.”

A spokesperson for Welford Healthcare, the owner of Holmesley Care Home, said: “I can confirm that we are currently dealing with an outbreak of coronavirus in the home. At that time two residents had died.

“They will be deeply missed and our thoughts are with their loved ones at this challenging time,” he added.

“The vast majority of our residents and our staff team have received their first dose of the vaccine and we hope this may have helped prevent an even worse situation.

“Of the residents and staff who tested positive, the majority have shown either no symptoms, or mild symptoms only.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely, and are doing everything in our power to ensure residents receive the appropriate care.

“For nearly 12 months our staff team has worked incredibly hard to keep the virus from entering our home.

“We are therefore devastated by this outbreak and are committed to working closely with all the relevant authorities to halt the spread of infection and to investigate how the virus entered our home.

“We continue to follow all Public Health England advice on infection prevention and control.”

Detective chief inspector Matthew Bourne, of Devon and Cornwall Police’s Public Protection Unit, said on Thursday: “Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding a Covid-19 outbreak at Holmesley Care Home in Sidford involving a number of residents and staff.

“The investigation is being led by the police in partnership with the Care Quality Commission.”

Meanwhile an outbreak of Covid19 in a care home has pushed up the infection rate in Torbay.

Health officials have put measures in place to contain the outbreak and prevent the virus spreading into the community after 11 residents and 20 staff tested positive.

Torbay’s director of public health Dr Lincoln Sargeant said no one had died and it appeared vaccinations had reduced the severity of the disease for residents.

He said infection control measures were in place and staff were self-isolating to prevent transmission.

Dr Sargeant said the outbreak was identified during routine testing of workers at the unnamed care home.

The public health director said the overall trend of infections in Torbay was still downwards, but due to the relatively low numbers involved, the Torquay outbreak had pushed up the most recent rate.