The Countess of Chester Hospital A female healthcare worker has been arrested on suspicion of the murder of eight babies and the attempted murder of another six babies.
The arrest comes after an investigation of the neo-natal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital.
In May last year a police investigation was launched into a suspected high death rate at the hospital with the force saying they were probing the deaths of eight babies between June 2015 and June 2016.
They also said they were to review seven further deaths and six non-fatal collapses.
The review came after the hospital referred concerns to police about unexplained deaths in its neo-natal unit over the year long period.
Detective Inspector Paul Hughes, who is in charge of the investigation, said today: 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.
When the investigation was first launched it was focusing on the deaths of 15 babies that occurred between the period of June 2015 and June 2016.
In addition the investigation was also conducting a review of six non-fatal collapses during the same period.
Since the start of our enquiries and, as the information gathering process has continued, the scope of the investigation has now widened. We are now currently investigating the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between the period of March 2015 and July 2016.
Due to the nature of the case and, as part of our ongoing enquiries, we have consulted with a number of medical specialists to ensure that we carry out as thorough an investigation as possible. We have also spoken to a large number of people to gather as much information as we can.
The healthcare worker was arrested this morning
As a result of our ongoing enquiries we have today (Tuesday 3 July) arrested a healthcare professional in connection with the investigation.
She was arrested earlier this morning on suspicion of murder in relation to 8 of the babies and attempted murder in relation to 6 of the babies and is currently in custody.
Whilst this is a significant step forward in our enquiries it is important to remember that the investigation is very much active and ongoing at this stage.
Cheshire Police have stressed the investigation remains ongoing
There are no set timescales for this coming to a conclusion but we remain committed to carrying out a thorough investigation as soon as possible.
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.
This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, there are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children.
The investigation has been ongoing for more than 12 months
At this stage we are unable to go into any further details about the investigation but as soon as we are able to provide any further updates we will do.