Suspected norovirus outbreak shuts dementia care unit at Priory Court Care Home in Ewell Village

The concerned son of one of the residents of Priory Court Care Home in Old Schools Lane, in Ewell Village, said it was closed on Monday evening.

A sign was posted in the glass door to the care home informing visitors of the “suspected outbreak”.

Symptoms of the virus include nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhoea and abdominal pain.

The NHS advises that it “can be very unpleasant but it usually clears up by itself in a few days.”

The Chief Operating Officer for St Cloud Care, the care provider which runs Priory Court, said it expected to re-open the unit "within the next few weeks.”

The concerned son of one of the home’s residents expressed his frustration at the closure to the Epsom Guardian and slammed the home over its “failings”.

In its most recent report from the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in August 2015 Priory Court – which charges some residents more than £1,000-a-week – was said to “require improvement”.

In its most recent report from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in September 2015 the care home was awarded three marks out of five and rated as "generally satisfactory".

The son told the Epsom Guardian: “I’m pretty annoyed because we handed in our notice a month ago because of failings at the care home.

“We are paying over £1,200–a-week for this. It’s just not good enough.”

The sign on the door read: “We regret the residential dementia unit is closed for visiting due to a suspected outbreak of Norovirus.

“Visitors to other units please wash hands and use sanitising gel.”

Mary Zoeller, press officer for the Ashley Centre, said she had "nothing but praise" for Priory Court, where her mother-in-law is a resident.

She said: "I am completely behind the home's decision to close to visitors to avoid spreading the virus.

"Priory Court notified us as soon as they did this and in my opinion have behaved extremely professionally."

The sign on the door, written by manager of the home, Shirley Emilio, offers advice to potential visitors.

She wrote: “If you have any concerns about a relative, please contact us.

“Instead of visiting please phone the nurse in charge of the home to make an enquiry.

“Wash your hands before and after visiting your relative or friend.

“In the current circumstances we would recommend that babies and children are discouraged from visiting.

“We apologise for the inconvenience but you will understand these measures are necessary to minimise the risk of spreading the virus. We will re-open the unit as soon as possible.”

John Cunningham, Chief Operating Officer for St Cloud Care, said: “Priory Court has recently experience an outbreak of diarrhoea and vomiting on one of our residential units. 

"In line with agreed infection control procedures for all care homes we have suspended admissions and any unnecessary visitors to this unit. 

"We have remained in close contact with both the Environmental Health Department and CQC regarding this outbreak and have been following all approved infection control processes whilst the situation continues. 

"Sadly, there are occasional outbreaks of this nature within care homes. 

"St Cloud Care is proud that we have responded quickly and appropriately to safeguard residents, relative and staff and will continue to do so. 

"We expect to re-open the unit within the next few weeks.”