PATIENTS at a hospital where seven people died after being poisoned have been left terrified after a message was found warning: “I will kill again.”
The chilling words were drawn on a mirror in a patients’ bathroom and appeared when condensation misted it up.
The male patient was said to have been “deeply spooked” when he discovered the words — which we have mocked up above — on Wednesday and immediately told a nurse.
Police are continuing to investigate the deaths of the seven patients starting in 2011 at Stepping Hill Hospital, Stockport. Some died months later.
Patients’ drips were tampered with and police believe insulin was injected into the saline solution. Another 15 patients were injected but survived. Police in Greater Manchester sent a team of officers to reassure and comfort staff and patients after the latest incident.
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| Fears ... Stepping Hill Hospital where seven died |
The message was wiped off by a nurse who feared it might cause further distress.
Last night a source told The Sun: “People are really, really spooked.
“If it was anywhere else, you’d just think ‘Oh, it’s a prank’ — but this is the poison probe hospital. And to find the words, ‘I will kill again’ written on a mirror is deeply unsettling.
“The patient who saw it was really distressed.
“The words suddenly appeared on the mirror when the bathroom was full of condensation.
“Luckily the message wasn’t found on one of the wards that the poisoning investigation centres around but it has still freaked people out. Everyone is still traumatised by recent events and this just brought it all back when we’re trying to put it behind us.”
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| Cleared ... nurse Rebecca Leighton |
The source added: “It has left some people feeling uncomfortable and a bit panicky. If this is someone’s idea of a joke, then it’s just plain sick. A lot of families have been to hell and back — so how anyone can think of this as humorous is beyond me.
“People have lost loved ones — and this just rakes it all up again.
“If they catch the culprit, I just hope he’s severely dealt with.”
A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “We are aware of a message that was found on a mirror in a patients’ bathroom at Stepping Hill Hospital on Wednesday 24 October 2012. It is believed the message had been written in the preceding 24 hours. No offences have been identified and the hospital is dealing with the matter internally.”
Nurse Rebecca Leighton, 28, was arrested last July but was later cleared of all charges.
Another, Victorino Chua, 47, was held in September 2011, after cops investigating the deaths found patient records had been tampered with. He was released on police bail after being questioned on suspicion of three counts of murder and 18 counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Seven ward drip victims
SEVEN patients at Stepping Hill Hospital died after being poisoned.
Their drips were tampered with and police believe insulin was injected into the saline solution. Fifteen other patients also attacked managed to survive. A police probe is continuing.
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| Victims ... poisoned at Stepping Hill Hospital |
These are the seven tragic victims (from left to right above): BERYL HOPE, 70, died in August 2011 due to insulin poisoning; ALF WEAVER, known as Derek died aged 83 on July 21, 2011; LINDA McDONAGH, 60, a mum of Stockport, died on January 14; JOHN BEELEY, 73, who was known as Jack, died on January 20; ARNOLD LANCASTER, 71, died at the hospital on July 11, 2011; BILL DICKSON, 82, of Stockport, died on New Year’s Eve 2011; TRACEY ARDEN, 44, a mother of two, died on July 7, 2011.
