28 August 2023 , 08:56
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A nurse arrested at a children's hospital is alleged to have poisoned a baby as police probe three deaths.
A child admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit at Birmingham Children's Hospital died "suddenly and unexpectedly," new documents show. The findings of a medic-led investigation into it, and two other tragedies at the hospital, have been handed to police.
Bosses at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust were said to have conducted a probe into "child deaths and sudden collapses". Staff members alerted the authorities of the case when one child rapidly deteriorated and died the next day on May 18, 2022.
A nurse was suspended and West Midland Police arrested her at her home in connection with the incident on suspicion of administering a poison with intent to endanger life. Other deaths at the hospital, in connection with which she has not been arrested, are thought to date as far back as January last year, reports Birmingham Live.
Dr Fiona Reynolds, chief medical officer at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said her priority is now patient safety. In a statement, published by Sunday Times, she said: "In May 2022, a child on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit at Birmingham Children’s Hospital deteriorated suddenly and unexpectedly. Due to the circumstances of the deterioration, the Trust acted straight away. A member of staff was suspended from work and subsequently arrested at home. This was widely reported at the time.
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"Sadly, the child later died and our thoughts remain with the family. The Trust immediately followed the standard safeguarding protocol for the sudden unexpected death of a child and West Midlands Police were notified the same day.
"An extensive clinical review of deaths and sudden deteriorations in children on the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit has been undertaken by clinicians at the Trust. Their findings have in turn been reviewed by independent experts and shared with the police."
The statement added: "We have communicated with all families where the care of their child has been reviewed and have responded openly to all requests from West Midlands Police and the Coroner on this matter. At all times our priority is patient safety which is why we took decisive action without delay."
The suspect cannot work as a nurse anywhere else due to her suspension. She had been employed at the hospital, which has a 31-bed paediatric intensive care unit. A spokesperson for West Midlands Police said: "The woman was arrested at a property in the West Midlands area on suspicion of administering poison with intent to endanger life."
The news comes as killer nurse Lucy Letby was this week jailed for life for murdering seven babies and trying to kill six more at a hospital in Chester. She has become the most prolific child serial killer in modern British history.