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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Hospital fluid bags 'sabotaged' | Hospital fluid bags 'sabotaged' |
| (about 4 hours later) | |
| Police investigating the possible sabotage of intravenous fluid bags at an Essex hospital are also carrying out an inquiry into the death of a child. | |
| Staff at the paediatric ward at Basildon University Hospital called in police on Sunday after 12 intravenous drip bags were found to be damaged. | |
| Police said the three-year-old child was taken to the hospital on Friday evening and died the following morning. | |
| They said there was no evidence to link both cases at this stage. | |
| Commenting on the inquiry into the death of the child, Det Supt Tim Wills said: "A post-mortem examination will be carried out by a specialist forensic pathologist and the priority is to establish the cause of death, support the family and keep them informed." | |
| Police, who said the investigations were being carried out "in tandem", added that staff would be interviewed and CCTV footage was being examined. | |
| Unit open | |
| The store room has been sealed off while forensic examinations take place. | |
| The hospital trust said concerned parents should call 01268 598536. | The hospital trust said concerned parents should call 01268 598536. |
| Hospital staff called in police on Sunday night after they found the bags leaking fluid. | |
| Maggie Rogers, director of nursing at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I can reassure our local community that we rapidly took necessary steps to ensure patient safety." | Maggie Rogers, director of nursing at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "I can reassure our local community that we rapidly took necessary steps to ensure patient safety." |
| Essex Police have appealed for anyone with information to contact officers. | |
| From the hospital, BBC Look East correspondent Richard Daniel said the intravenous fluid was understood to be saline fluid used for the rehydration of young patients. | |
| "Police will be examining who had access to the storage unit, whether it was locked and who visited the ward," he said. | |
| "These bags had been punctured but what we don't know is whether they had been contaminated." | |
| He added that the unit remained open, although the storage area had been sealed off, while investigations take place. |