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A health worker is believed to have killed eight babies and tried to kill six more, in the first police investigation of child deaths in hospitals for nearly 30 years.
Cheshire police said morning and taken into custody. Officers searched a semi-detached house about a mile from the hospital, northwest of the city.
Police opened an investigation last May on the deaths of 15 babies and six non-fatal collapses at the Women's and Children's Unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016. Police said Tuesday that expanded to cover the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016.
It is believed that this is the most important police investigation on The deaths of children in hospitals since Nurse Beverley Allitt, nicknamed Deaths, "has been jailed for 30 years for the murder of four children with lethal injections and attempt to murder three more in the 1990s.
DI Paul Hughes, who heads the investigation, said: "While this is a significant step forward in our investigations, it is important to remember that the investigation is very active and continues at this stage.
"There are no deadlines set for reaching a conclusion, but we remain committed to a thorough investigation as soon as possible."
Police stated that the parents of all the babies involved were updated and supported by specialized officers.
Hughes said, "We recognize that this survey has a huge impact on all families, staff and patients of the hospital as well as members of the public. This is an extremely difficult time for all families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of it all, there are a number of bereaved families looking for answers about what happened to their children.
Ian Harvey Medical Director, said the staff was supporting the police with the investigation.
"Asking the police to look into it was not something we were doing lightly, but we must do everything to understand what happened here and get the answers that we and the families want so desperately. " "The countess is now the equivalent of a first level special care unit and we are confident that the unit is sure to continue in its current form."
In a quiet residential street in the area of Blacon in Chester, neighbors said they were awake Around 6 am Tuesday morning, agents surrounded a three-bedroom semi-detached house
A silver car belonging to the health worker was moved to the driveway of an empty house next door. Both houses were cordoned off by police tape and four Cheshire police vehicles were stationed at the scene.
Tuesday afternoon, a blue tent stood on the small garden in front of the house.
Michael Coupe, a former paramedic who has been living on the estate for 12 years, said everyone was shocked when they learned that an arrest had been made.
"I came out of the house around eight o'clock and saw them all around the house.With the big blue tent, we first thought that someone had been attacked, but all the world started talking about someone who was arrested, "he said." It's just a horrible and serious thing going on. You never expect anything like this to come to your door. "
Other neighbors said that the woman who lived at the address had not been there for a long time and held herself.
L & # 39; The Countess of Chester Hospital recently revealed the highest neonatal mortality rate of all similarly sized structures in Britain in 2015, the year when several of the suspicious deaths occurred.
2013 and three in 2014. There were eight deaths in 2015 and five in 2016.
Last July, the hospital stopped providing care to babies born earlier than 32 weeks after the birth. Review of 24 recommendations for improvement.University study published in June 2017 found that the infant mortality rate at the hospital was at least 10% higher than expected in similar maternity homes elsewhere. [19659003] The authors of the study – Mothers and babies: reduce risks through audits and enq confidential utes across the UK – examined stillbirths and neonatal deaths occurring in 165 maternity homes across the country in 2015.
They found that the Chester Countess hospital had the highest rate of n Infant mortality of 43 hospitals of similar size in Great Britain, with 1.91 deaths per 1,000 births, against an average of 1.27 in other hospitals.
Crude neonatal mortality rate of the hospital – the number of deaths compared to the amount of the study, it was higher than that of all other hospitals of the same size, as well as # 39 to the national average of 2.5 deaths per 1,000 births.
In May, the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health reported that the staff of the neonatal unit of the hospital, which reported a higher number of infant deaths than usual, was inadequate
. identified significant gaps in medical and nursing roles, poor decision-making and insufficient coverage.
He also found that deaths in the baby unit had not always been properly studied in the hospital. All infant deaths should be considered serious incidents and promptly reviewed by a team of experts – a pediatrician, midwife at risk, a neonatal nurse and an obstetrician. All the deceased babies had no post-mortem.
Unit consultants had first noticed no connection between the "collapsing episodes" of the deceased babies, says the report, "but they began to notice similarities" , such as mottling on the limbs that appeared after a few minutes of resuscitation.They could not find any specific explanation, but this led to degrading unity while the college experts investigated further
The lawsuits against health care workers are rare and often difficult.Organ Haycroft, a lawyer at Serjeants' Inn Chambers, said that the intention to prove was crucial. case of the Countess of Chester, he stated that the police "will first consider the intention and if there was intent to kill, it is a murder. 39; is a dangerous act whatever the intention, it is about a manslaughter cut off In both cases, there must be a causal link – for actual death there must be a link between the medical act and death. "
Additional reportage: James Gant
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