Arden family sees possibility of hospital murder

London: The devastated family of a grandmother who died after being poisoned in hospital said they were still coming to terms with the possibility she was murdered.

Multiple sclerosis sufferer Tracey Arden, 44, was one of three patients who died after a suspected saboteur injected insulin into at least 36 vials of saline solution used for hydration.

More patients could still be at risk as police confirmed they cannot rule out the possibility more boxes of saline have been contaminated or that the insulin was injected before the vials were delivered to the hospital.

Sunday terminally ill Arden's brother, Gary, said: "The most difficult thing is we had come to terms with Tracey's death, the funeral was going to be emotional but at least it would have brought closure to Tracey's life. This now means we won't be able to do that, we don't know when we can get Tracey's body back.

"I'm not going to blame the NHS as an institution for what may be the actions of a random person."

Police confirmed other boxes of saline solution have been sent away to be tested for traces of insulin but the results have not come back yet.

A police spokesman said: "We cannot be sure the contamination occurred at the hospital but we are working under that assumption because we are currently only aware one box has been contaminated. We are still waiting for the results of the tests on the other boxes to come back."

NHS Northwest confirmed they had reminded other hospitals in the area of their medicine protocols but would not be issuing a formal warning unless the police confirmed the contamination had occurred because of an issue with the manufacturer.

Arden and two men, aged 71 and 84, died at Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester. The case echoes that of Beverley Allitt, a nurse who used insulin to kill four children at Grantham and Kesteven hospital in Lincolnshire between 1991 and 1993.

— Daily Mail