Care Home Bodies To Be Exhumed

Police will today begin exhumations of elderly people who were living at a care home, as part of a widening investigation into concern about how they died. Detectives will announce they are investigating at least seven suspicious deaths at the Parkfields residential care home near Glastonbury, Somerset.

{mosimage}In what officers admit is a “drastic step”, the remains of Nellie Mary Pickford, who died almost a year ago at 89, will be removed from a graveyard. A postmortem will try to establish how she died, after which she will be reburied. Over the next five weeks, two forther former residents of the home in Butleigh will be exhumed and examined. They follow the arrest of a registered nurse, Rachel Baker, 42, and her husband, Leigh, a 48-year-old chef, who ran the home. Mrs Baker was questioned on suspicion of administering a noxious substance, and Mr Baker of “being concerned” in the administering. Both are on bail.

The police inquiry began after concerns were raised by the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI), which registers, inspects, and reports on social care services in England. Its concern followed the death of one resident, Lucy Cox, aged 97, at the home on New Year’s Day. Detective Superintendent Trevor Simpson of Avon and Somerset police, heading a team of 25 officers, said they had “considered long and hard” before taking this “drastic step” of exhumations.

He said: “It is a very serious step to take, unprecedented in this force’s history; but we feel that to successfully and properly conduct this investigation we need to do this. The purpose is to conduct a postmortem looking for the cause of death and achieving samples for analysis. Hopefully then, within three days, the family can conduct a private burial and she can be returned to her resting place.”

The other two exhumations will take place in Butleigh next Tuesday and in Kingweston on July 10. Police will not reveal the identities of the bodies.

A postmortem has been completed on Ms Cox. The bodies of a further three former residents were cremated. Det Supt Simpson would not comment on whether any other deaths at the home were being queried or investigated.

The inquiry began in January after fears about the care home were flagged up by the CSCI. Neither the police nor the CSCI has said who raised the concerns, but it is understood to have been a staff member.

In late January the CSCI carried out a detailed inspection of the home. It found “standards had deteriorated significantly” since a visit six months before. In March it successfully applied to magistrates for the home to be closed, and all its residents were rehoused.

Among the concerns highlighted in the report was the question of how medication was managed. The report said: “The management of medicines in the home has the potential to place service users at risk of harm.”

Also highlighted were worries over the number of staff on duty at times, and concern some residents were isolated. However, there were also good points. Some residents said they were happy at the home – enjoying socialising, going for walks, and reading the paper. Some said staff were “lovely” and “kind”.

A CSCI spokesman said yesterday: “Certain matters were brought to our attention in early January that gave us serious concern about the standards of care provided. We alerted the police. We carried out an unannounced inspection at the home on January 24, and found that standards had deteriorated significantly since the previous inspection in June 2006.”

Parkfields is owned by Mr Baker’s parents, Malcolm and June. It housed 16 people in a main building with views of Glastonbury Tor, and in bungalows.

Police will erect forensic tents and lighting for the exhumation, which will be overseen by a Home Office pathologist. Mrs Pickford’s body will be taken to a mortuary for examination. She will be reburied during a private ceremony at which the family will be present.

The family of Mrs Pickford released a statement in which they said: “Mrs Nellie Pickford, known to all as Mary, died peacefully on July 19 2006, aged 89. She left behind two children and three grandchildren and has been greatly missed by all. The family are extremely upset at the news of the exhumation, and request that they be left alone through this distressing period.”