'She totally betrayed her patients' (From Warrington Guardian)

'She totally betrayed her patients'

LEIGHTON Hospital boss Simon Yates, expressed his deepest sympathy to the relatives of Salisbury's victims.

On learning the verdict chief executive Simon Yates 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 hope they feel that justice has been done and that they may now begin the slow process of rebuilding their lives.

"We are devastated and deeply shocked that such crimes could have been committed by a member of our 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.

"This is an extremely rare and tragic case. Our trust has never before faced such serious allegations against a member of staff and it has been a shattering experience for all concerned.

"Naturally, in common with every trust, we have robust measures to ensure the highest quality of care and patient safety. But no-one could ever have imagined something like this happening.

Salisbury was suspended without prejudice, on full pay, by the trust in May 2002, when police launched an investigation into allegations by her colleagues about her clinical practice.

She will now be formally dismissed from the trust and referred to her professional body, the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Mr Yates paid tribute to the police, adding: "We turned to the police for advice and support at a very early stage when these allegations were first brought to our attention and at their request, we halted our internal inquiry pending the outcome of their investigations."