Health worker arrested over baby deaths
Woman is suspected of murdering eight infants
A HEALTHCARE worker has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of eight babies and the attempted murder of another six after an investigation of the neonatal unit at a major hospital in the North of England.
The arrest comes as part of a long-running investigation following a high number of baby deaths at the Countess of Chester NHS Hospital in Cheshire.
Detectives began an investigation in May last year, initially looking at the deaths of 15 babies between June 2015 and June 2016.
Yesterday police said a woman had been arrested and the probe had widened.
Detectives said they are looking into the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016.
Police have not said if the arrested woman is a nurse, doctor or other health professional. She remains in custody.
Detective Inspector Paul Hughes, in charge of the investigation for Cheshire Police, said: “The investigation into the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital is continuing.
“Since it was first launched in May 2017, a dedicated team of detectives have been working tirelessly on this case.
“This is a highly complex and very sensitive investigation and, as you can appreciate, we need to ensure we do everything we possibly can to try to establish in detail what has led to these baby deaths and collapses.”
Det Insp Hughes said the scope of the investigation had widened.
He said: “We are now currently investigating the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between the period of March 2015 and July 2016.”
He said while the woman’s arrest was “a significant step forward”, the investigation was still ongoing.
He said: “We recognise that this investigation has a huge impact on all of the families, staff and patients at the hospital as well as members of the public. Parents of all the babies are continuing to be kept fully updated and are being supported throughout the process by specially trained officers.”
The hospital carried out a number of independent expert medical reviews into the deaths before calling in police.
Medical director Ian Harvey said: “We are continuing to support Cheshire Police with their ongoing investigation.
“Asking the police to look into this was not something we did lightly, but we need to do everything we can to understand what has happened here and get the answers we and the families so desperately want.
“The Countess is now equivalent to a Level 1 special care baby unit and we are confident the unit is safe to continue in its current form.”
A report published in July 2016 by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health revealed that paediatric consultants had been concerned since June 2015 about a higher-than-usual number of deaths on the ward, several of which were “unexplained” or “unexpected”.