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'There's a devil in me': Filipino nurse Victorino Chua jailed for life after poisoning patients at English hospital
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 20 May, 2015, 10:13pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 20 May, 2015, 10:13pm
The Guardian in London
Victorino Chua
Tracey Arden
Derek Weaver
A Filipino nurse has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 35 years for murdering two patients and poisoning more than 20 others in his care in a British hospital.
Victorino Chua, 49, forced Stepping Hill hospital in Stockport, Greater Manchester, to the brink of closure in 2011 when he deliberately injected insulin into saline bags and ampoules while working on two wards. These were then unwittingly used by other nurses on the ward, leading to a series of insulin overdoses.
His actions have raised fears over unqualified foreign nurses working in British hospitals after it emerged the investigation found inconsistencies in his medical qualifications.
Chua was found guilty on Monday by a jury at Manchester crown court of murdering Tracy Arden, 44, and Alfred Weaver, 83, known to his family as Derek.
Arden, who had multiple sclerosis, was admitted for a mild chest infection and would have expected to "sail through this storm". But she was pronounced dead eight hours after admission after being treated with a contaminated saline ampoule.
Weaver was admitted with a chest infection and, after being given a saline drip, "appeared to be in agony, eyes rolling back in his head". He died 10 days later.
Greater Manchester police raised concerns about Chua's medical qualifications with the Department of Health and the Home Office, as well as contacting the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
Prosecutors drew attention to a self-penned letter found at Chua's home after his arrest.
Described as "the bitter nurse confession" by Chua, he said he was "an angel turned into an evil person" and "there's a devil in me". He also wrote of having things he would "take to the grave".
