A CORONER has raised concerns to Dorset Police over officers not having keys to open communal doors at shared accommodation in emergencies.

Richard Middleton, assistant coroner for Dorset, has written to the force’s chief constable following his investigations into the death of Bournemouth resident Cheralyn Clulow.

Ms Clulow lived alone in local authority accommodation.

She was offered support from the specialist drug and alcohol service but in the four months prior to her death she did not attend key appointments.

On August 28, 2019, neighbours had concerns for her welfare and notified the council, who in turn contacted police. Officers attended late that day but could not get access beyond the communal door.

They attended the following day and forced entry. Ms Clulow was found semi-conscious and taken to hospital by paramedics. Scans showed she had suffered extensive and multiple strokes. Her condition deteriorated and she died on August 30, 2019.

Following an inquest, Mr Middleton reached a conclusion of drug related death. The cause of death was given as multi-organ failure due to stroke which was a result of infective endocarditis. Intravenous drug use was listed as a contributing factor.

Mr Middleton said there is a risk that future deaths could occur unless action is taken and he believes Dorset Police can take such action

“The police officers who were tasked with the initial attendance could not gain access beyond the communal doors”, his report said.

“The police officers did not believe it was proportionate (based on the information they had) to force entry through the communal doors which required specialist input. They were aware that a colleague had purchased for himself a fire drop key (to be used in emergency situations) which could be used to override the communal lock door. There was a delay in gaining access to the address of the deceased.

The coroner said officers did not have information on how to obtain a fire drop key.

He added: “There appears to be no general distribution of such keys or key fobs to Dorset Police officers in order to gain access to shared accommodation by officers in an emergency situation 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.

“There appears to be no training or dissemination of information as to how such keys can be obtained.”

The report has been sent to Dorset Police chief constable James Vaughan.

The force has until March 9, 2021 to respond to the coroner’s concerns.

A Dorset Police spokesman said: "Our thoughts remain with the family of Cheralyn Clulow following her sad death.

"We are committed to learning any lessons where we can from inquests such as this and welcome the feedback from the coroner in relation to the issues that have emerged in respect of related possible organisational learning.

"We will be carefully considering the matters raised by the coroner in the Prevention of Future Deaths report and will look to respond within the relevant timeline."