A "healthcare professional" has been arrested on suspicion of murdering eight babies and attempting to kill six others at a hospital.

[Magicpaintbrush]

Just saw this on the bbc website: www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-44696813

If the person in question is guilty of this, well, horrific doesn't even begin to cover it.

I have just read this myself. This is the first I've heard of the case.

news.sky.com/story/countess-of-chester-hospital-nurse-arrested-for-third-time-over-baby-deaths-12129009

Third time she has been arrested. I have no idea what is going on and how they can keep doing this? Do they have probable cause but not definitive evidence? Feels like it is turning into undue harassment for the healthcare professional if they keep arresting her but clearly don’t have enough evidence to convict her. It’s the type of thing she can’t just go back to work from. But surely there’s enough doubt to make the police and hospital very uncomfortable.

Obviously we need to be careful with what we say as I’ve seen some people naming the woman online even though she hasn’t actually been convicted. I wonder how the media even got her name in the first place.

Mental isn't it? It's like a yearly event

She’s finally been charged. Shocking 🥺😡

news.sky.com/story/nurse-charged-with-murder-over-baby-deaths-at-cheshire-hospital-12130273

Im very apprehensive about the case seeing as it's taken 3 years to charge her , the hospital in question was deemed to have significant failings and short staffed.I can't be sure if she hasn't taken the fall and is being scapegoated . I'm not going to condemn her yet I hope the babies parents get the answers they desperately need.

I am of the same opinion @Lillyxoxox.

Why 3 years surely the evidence they had must not of been very concrete at the time. I'm wondering if there's maybe new evidence that has come to light.

It's heartbreaking. Those poor parents. I hope they get some answers.

@AwFeebs

I am of the same opinion *@Lillyxoxox*.

Why 3 years surely the evidence they had must not of been very concrete at the time. I'm wondering if there's maybe new evidence that has come to light.

It's heartbreaking. Those poor parents. I hope they get some answers.

I am also of the same opinion that some kind of evidence must have been produced in order to convince the CPS to actually CHARGE her. It’s the third arrest now.

From what I’ve read elsewhere they dug up her garden previously.

Something isn’t adding up.

I just hope the poor parents get a straight answer.

I would also be very interested to know if the attempted murders have left any of the children with long term health problems ect.

Has anyone ever been arrested this many times?! Apparently the deaths were 10% above average (doesn't seem like that much to me) but the babies apparently died after heart and lung failure and were "unusually impossible to resuscitate". Also had unusual blotches on their arms and legs. Got this from the daily fail though..

No medical training myself but would be very interested what others think about the case...been interested in this since it first came out then it all went completely quiet, was thinking she was innocent and it'd quietly go away because the cops got it wrong, now I don't know what to think...

I saw this on the news this morning and remembered the story from a couple of years back. Just a strange and disturbing case. Those poor babies and their parents, hopefully there will be answers for them soon.

Hoping that justice is served and an innocent person has not been charged.
Feeling for the parents and families of the babies who died. They must want this case to be settled.

This case just doesn't add up for me....

As above says , shouldn't speculate yet but it does seem odd the amount of time a charge has taken, murder typically implies intention of a malicious nature but based on the limited information we have been given it seems it would fall in the category of manslaughter would it not? Also odd that her family and work friends etc have sung her praises saying how hard working and kind she is

I think it will be because it all boils down to sufficient evidence. The police seem to have been tenacious and convinced they have the right person to arrest 3 times, but Crown Prosecution obviously felt there was insufficient evidence for charging before. One can only summise that new evidence has been found.

The thing I found most strange was the digging up of her parent's garden last year.

I hope this thread can remain balanced and non-accusatory on the basis of innocent until proven guilty. All other threads have been pulled on the subject, whereas this one has managed to stay here since 2018.

The accused's next appearance will be on Friday in person at Crown Court (today's was video link in Magistrate's Court)

I partially agree with above, but at the same time the amount of evidence the cps needs for even a basic charge is huge and now there are parents commenting on the telegraph post on facebook accusing her of killing the babies, saying she knows what she did etc. who knows how credible it all is but it isn't looking great.

It doesn’t add up to me either but I’m guessing there must be more evidence we don’t know about, not just the rise in baby deaths. Either outcome is going to be horrendous..

I expect the police are furious with whoever leaked her name initially - the speculation is hindering her right to a fair trial.
If the trial collapses then justice can't be served... so those people calling her all manner of things already, could be essentially shooting themselves in the foot.

I'm keeping an open mind until we can follow the trial. Horrific for the parents but we don't know enough to comment.

@Pebble21uk the information has been around for years, linked to hospital investigations. And as stated on other posts the newspapers can't speak about her legally without certain reasonings so I imagine there's some way for them to do that.

In any case like this, it won't be just the pure number of deaths, but the pattern and timing between deaths, whether the death was reasonably expected, plus records of staffing, etc.

Something is wrong with this case. I don’t know what but something is decidedly ‘off’
Heartbreaking that these babies were lost but hoping there is a ‘natural’ reason for what happened.
I was accused of fii once and I had to absolutely fight to show proof/evidence and correct awful mistakesmade by professionals and reading the notes etc they’d made you would have thought I was guilty and evil. It was all speculation and false info it was like Chinese whispers I was utterly shocked. So I wonder has similar but I’m a bigger scale happened here ? Should not really speculate I guess but I will say innocent until proven guilty is very important

There will be a trial, where both sides will be given the opportunity to present evidence. Sadly, there are cases where health professionals do harm to their patients. Until the trial is over, we won't know.

Poor babies
I hope the families can get some answers 🙁

Like a PP, I was also accused of having Munchausen Syndrome by Proxy (entirely false) by Social Services after my DS had an accident. The police were involved but concluded very quickly that it was accident (there was forensic evidence). Unfortunately, SS decided to keep this information from themselves and launched care proceedings on the basis that they believed I had MSBP.

I am not actually sure that MSBP is a thing. It was invented for the Beverly Allitt case I think and has been bandied about since then in situations where SS have no real evidence. Same with Borderline Personality Disorder.

In an event, I hope they get to the bottom of this case. It's a strange one.

@NCforITN
It’s awful isn’t it. Our case was different in that false info etc had had time to pass around like Chinese whispers for months by professionals so by the time we weee aware it took a lot of unpicking and then desperate attempts to show evidence they were wrong.

Who knows in this case what it is I wouldn’t like to speculate but if it is suspected FII/MSBP I would hope and pray they actually look into it properly and don’t take anyone’s word for anything as I’ve seen first hand how one wrong opinion or a doctor getting mixed up with patients can cause a lot of harm. A huge responsibility comes with investigation like this you would hope no stone is left unturned to get justice for these families but through truth and fact not just to pin something on someone for false closure

@milkncoffee it's abit difficult I imagine given the evidence they supposedly have and the number she has Allegedly murdered. However if she has then I hope it is Munchausen or other mental issue to at least give a semi rational explanation and not that she is just genuinely evil. It at least would highlight the significant failings of that NHS trust further.

It’s just unbearable to think about isn’t it. Part of me hopes it was just some kind of dreadful mistake she made if she was responsible the thought anyone would want to harm tiny babies is just heartbreaking 🙁