NURSE JAILED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDERS (From Warrington Guardian)

NURSE JAILED FOR ATTEMPTED MURDERS

A NURSE has been sentenced to five years in prison after being found guilty of the attempted murder of two elderly patients at Leighton Hospital.

Barbara Salisbury, 47, from Pontybodkin, north Wales, was accused of trying to kill four patients in a bid to free up more beds at the hospital in Crewe.

Ward sister Salisbury was convicted of the attempted murder of Frances May Taylor, 88, and Frank Owen, 92 at Chester Crown Court today (Friday) after an eight-week trial.

She was cleared of attempting to murder James Byrne, 76, and Reuben Thompson, 81.

Salisbury was accused of administering overdoses of diamorphine to the patients and lying them on their backs, making them drown in their own lung secretions.

She denied all the allegations.

Simon Yates, chief executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust, expressed his deepest sympathy to the relatives of the two victims.

He said: "On behalf of the trust, I should like to express our sincere condolences to the families of the deceased patients who have endured an agonising ordeal for more than two years.

"We are devastated and deeply shocked that such crimes could have been committed by a member of staff and one in whom we had every right to place our trust.

"Barbara Salisbury was judged to be a competent and well trained nurse, yet she totally betrayed her patients and her calling in this, the most heinous of ways."

He said this was an extremely rare and tragic case and the trust had never before faced such serious allegations against a member of staff.

Mr Yates said an independent, external inquiry would now be held into all matters relating to the case, while the trust would resume its own internal investigations.