DORSET County Council has launched an investigation following the death of an elderly woman.

It is believed the woman fell while she was a resident of a West Dorset care home.

Broadwindsor House care home is now subject to a safeguarding investigation being carried out by the council.

But the daughter of the woman whose death sparked the investigation has defended the home and staff said they did everything possible to care for her after the incident.

It comes after the Bridport News revealed a number of care homes in West Dorset had failed to meet standards in the latest reports by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

However, Broadwindsor House, a residential care home catering for up to 21 elderly people, was given a clean bill of health and found to meet all five standards in its last inspection in December, 2013.

A spokesperson for the county council said: “Dorset County Council is currently conducting a safeguarding investigation at Broadwindsor House residential home in Beaminster following the death of one of its former residents.

“The council is committed to safeguarding all vulnerable adults in Dorset and we are working closely with partner organisations to ensure people are protected from any abuse and neglect. We take any allegations of neglect very seriously but we do not comment on individual cases.

“We are monitoring the operation of the home in respect of the key risk areas and will continue to assess and review the residents at the home during the investigation.”

The row comes after the death of an elderly former resident, who was not at the home when she died.

Her daughter Mandy Morley spoke out in support of Broadwindsor House, which she described as a ‘home from home’ for her mother.

She said: “I was very closely involved the whole time and was there when she was transferred from the home. I am more than happy with the care she received. The staff and doctors really looked after her, even letting her keep her dog with her.”

A spokesman for the home said: “All of us at Broadwindsor House pride ourselves on the care we give to our residents. We provide our elderly clients with a high level of care and attention and this case was no different.

“This lady had an initial fall so we arranged for the ambulance to take her to hospital. She was discharged at 7am the next morning and brought back to Broadwindsor House.

“From then on we ensured there were daily visits from the district nurse team. When it became clear her condition was not improving we, together with the resident’s family, arranged for her to move to a nursing home. We did our utmost to make sure this lady was well cared for and comfortable throughout as her family will testify.”