'Criminal act' probed at contamination hospital

Health bosses at a hospital where three patients died after contaminated saline solution was found said Tuesday they were dealing with a "criminal act" as a fourth person was revealed as being critically ill. Tracey Arden, 44, George Keep, 84, and Arnold Lancaster, 71, died at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport last week, sparking a huge police investigation involving 60 officers. Detectives believe insulin was deliberately injected into saline containers which were used in drips by at least two wards at the Cheshire hospital. Chris Burke, chief executive of Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, told a press conference on Tuesday that "malicious intent" was behind the act. Police said they could not rule out the person responsible still being on the site, where security has been ramped up in recent days. Detectives have questioned more than 50 witnesses including the 11 patients who were affected by the contamination but survived. Greater Manchester Assistant Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: "Our investigation in the initial stages is concentrating on people that work within the hospital or visited the hospital. "We are not ruling out it could be someone outside the hospital but our focus has been on staff and visitors to the hospital at this stage." Inquests into the three unexplained deaths were opened and adjourned by South Manchester Coroner John Pollard on Tuesday as police await post-mortem results. Meanwhile a man in his 40s, the latest victim in the case, is in a critical condition, doctors said. Burke said staff at the hospital were "shocked, horrified and angry" at the events, and added: "They are alarmed that a place that should be for care has become a crime scene. "This is a criminal act, perpetrated by someone with malicious intent. We do not believe it could have been anticipated. "This is a bad person doing a malevolent thing. "This is about someone wanting to inflict harm, pain and, possibly further, as a deliberate malicious act. That is nothing to do with care."