Police investigating the suspicious deaths of eight babies at a UK neonatal unit have searched the home of a nurse who works at the facility.

Officers have searched the home of Lucy Letby and that of her parents in connection with the investigation.

In May last year a police investigation was launched into a suspected high death rate at the hospital with the force saying they were probing the deaths of eight babies between June 2015 and June 2016.

They also said they were to review seven further deaths and six non-fatal collapses, reports The Mirror.

The investigation, codenamed Operation Hummingbird, has now expanded to cover the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between March 2015 and July 2016

Police today confirmed they had arrested a woman who they described only as ‘a healthcare professional’ this morning. They have not said whether the woman is a nurse, doctor or worked in another role.

She is being questioned for suspicion of having murdered eight of the children and attempting to murder six others.

Detective Inspector Paul Hughes said, “This is a highly complex and very sensitive investigation and, as you can appreciate, we need to ensure we do everything we possibly can to try to establish in detail what has led to these baby deaths and collapses.

“When the investigation was first launched it was focusing on the deaths of 15 babies that occurred between the period of June 2015 and June 2016.

“In addition the investigation was also conducting a review of six non-fatal collapses during the same period.

“Since the start of our enquiries and, as the information gathering process has continued, the scope of the investigation has now widened. We are now currently investigating the deaths of 17 babies and 15 non-fatal collapses between the period of March 2015 and July 2016.

“We recognise that this investigation has a huge impact on all of the families, staff, and patients at the hospital as well as members of the public.

“Parents of all the babies are continuing to be kept fully updated and are being supported throughout the process by specially trained officers.

“This is an extremely difficult time for all the families and it is important to remember that, at the heart of this, there are a number of bereaved families seeking answers as to what happened to their children.

“At this stage we are unable to go into any further details about the investigation but as soon as we are able to provide any further updates we will do.”

We hope the families all get some answers very soon.

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