EMERGENCY services have been called to a nursing home.

Twenty ambulances and Hazardous Area Responce Team vehicles were seen at the Kingswood Home, in Heene Road, Worthing this morning.

Residents are believed to be being evacuated from the property amid concerns over welfare.

It is understood the incident is not related to coronavirus.

Staff at the home refused to comment and hung up on the Argus multiple times.

A West Sussex County Council spokesman said: “We are aware of a safeguarding issue at a local care home and have been working closely with NHS partners to ensure the safety and well-being of residents. “We would like to make clear this is not a coronavirus related incident.”

A spokesperson for the ambulance service said: "South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust attended a medical emergency call for a resident at a Worthing care home in Heene Road, at 1.15am on Sunday, 16 February.

"The trust is unable to comment further on the details of this emergency. owever, please note this is not related to the Covid-19 virus.

The Care Quality Commissions most recent assessment of the home rated it as "requiring improvement."

The home was rated most poorly for leadership and effectiveness but was judged to be 'good' for patient safety and care.

The CQC report said: "Kingswood Home is registered to provide care and support for up to 23 people who may live with a dementia type illness or an acquired brain injury. The service provided support for both younger and older people. People required a range of help and support in relation to their care needs, which included diabetes and post stroke.

"There were 19 people living at the home at the time of the inspection."

Inspectors raised concerns about patients' care plans not being updated - including a stroke patient whose risk of choking had not been updated. Inspectors also noted that anonymous concerns regarding the cleanliness of the service had been raised in November and December.

They said they found the home "adequately clean but there were no cleaning schedules or audits to monitor the cleanliness."