Nurse Quizzed Over Five Hospital Deaths

Police are continuing to question a nurse arrested over the deaths of five patients at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport.

Becki Leighton, 27, was arrested at her home near the hospital in Greater Manchester on Wednesday on suspicion of murder.

Officers have been granted an extension to her custody until 9pm this evening.

They will then have to apply to a magistrate for more time to question the nurse, if they have not charged her, or released her.

The five deaths are being linked to a probe into tampered medication at Stepping Hill.

The alarm was raised last week when another nurse reported a higher than normal number of patients on her ward with "unexplained" low blood sugar levels, pointing to saline containers being sabotaged.

Insulin was found in a batch of 36 saline ampoules in a storeroom close to wards A1 and A3 of the hospital.

Detectives believe the insulin was deliberately injected into the saline, which was used in drips by at least two wards.

It was revealed on Thursday afternoon that two further people have died in incidents linked to contaminated saline - bringing the total number to five.

Meanwhile, security at the hospital remains tight. Guards are checking all vehicles as they enter and are patrolling the site.

But senior staff say the facility is returning to normal.

It is understood up to 50 deaths at the hospital may now be referred to the coroner. This is the number of fatalities at the hospital since July 7.

However, the main thrust of the investigation is thought to be focused on the treatment of 14 patients.

The relatives of Derek Weaver, one of two patients whose deaths were announced on Thursday, said he was "a lovely man who the staff all said was a gentleman".

The other patient was a 84-year-old woman.

Police were already looking at the suspicious deaths of George Keep, 84, Arnold Lancaster, 71, and 44-year-old mother-of-two Tracey Arden.

Officers stress they are still treating the five fatalities as unexplained but said it was likely they would be asked to investigate more.

Sky News has learned that an internal audit earlier this year revealed that a third of drugs were not locked away as they should have been.

Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said that improvements had been made and that procedures now meet national guidelines.

But Chris Hughes, who has diabetes and was treated at Stepping Hill several weeks ago, said the stores of insulin were not as secure as they could have been.

"I just felt like I've had a lucky escape," he told Sky News.

Health authorities have urged staff at other hospitals in the region to be extra vigilant.

NHS North West chief nurse Jane Cummings said: "Naturally, all staff are being extra vigilant at this time.

"All staff have been reminded to continue to follow our procedure of reporting any unusual events or patterns immediately to a senior member of staff."

Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable Ian Hopkins said that, although the investigation was complex, its priority was clear.

"Our focus at the moment is preventing any further harm to patients within the hospital and bringing to justice the person who has performed these deliberate acts," he said.

Friends of Becki Leighton have left messages on social networking sites speaking of their shock at her arrest and voicing their support.

One message said: "Haven't slept thinking of you Becks. You wouldn't hurt a fly."

Another said: "Brilliant nurse, treated me hundreds of times with care and compassion."

And a third said: "I am a trained nurse and I know that this poor girl would have been overworked.

"She would have had to administer drugs to patients without another nurse checking them with her. That is a routine practice at Stepping Hill and has been for many years."