Five people have died in a care home in Devon that is under investigation by police over a Covid-19 outbreak.
Devon and Cornwall Police said all five residents, who died since 6 March at Holmesley Care Home in Sidmouth, tested positive for coronavirus.
Ten residents and one staff member are also in hospital with Covid-19 and a ‘significant number of residents and staff’ have tested positive for the virus.
The police launched what they said was a ‘complex’ investigation in partnership with other agencies, including the Care Quality Commission (CQC), following concerns about the outbreak.
Officers are speaking to staff and have searched the home, while post-mortems have been conducted on three of the deceased residents.
Chief superintendent Dan Evans, of Devon and Cornwall Police, said: ‘I’ve no doubt there will be concern in the community regarding this incident.
‘We are doing everything possible to help those bereaved families, while also working with partners to communicate to those with relatives remaining within the home.’
Nursing in Practice has contacted Holmesley Care Home for comment. A spokesperson for the home is quoted on the BBC news website saying the ‘vast majority of our residents and our staff team have received their first dose of vaccine and we hope this may have helped prevent an even worse situation’.
They also said staff had ‘worked incredibly hard’ for nearly 12 months ‘to keep the virus from entering our home’. Agency staff have been brought in to care for the residents who remain at the home while staff self-isolate.
The home can provide accommodation for up to 55 people, according to a 2018 CQC report.
