Nurse in Germany charged with attempted killing of 5 babies
Authorities in southwest Germanyarrested an intensive care nurse on Wednesday,
suspecting she had attempted to kill five newborn babies in her charge with morphine, police in the city of Ulm said.
The babies,
at least some of them prematurely born, fell simultaneously ill in the early hours of December 20, suffering from shortness of breath.
Thanks to prompt medical intervention, all recovered and are not expected to face long-term harm.
Investigators were able to conclude from the time of the symptoms that the poisonings had happened during a night shift.
They later found a syringe containing morphine-infused baby milk in the locker of one of the nurses on that shift.
The nurse, who was not identified by authorities but described as “young”, was arrested after the syringe was found.
She denies charges of serious bodily harm and attempted killing.
German Nurse Accused of Poisoning Five Infants With Morphine – The New York Times
The morphine that is officially prescribed by doctors at the hospital in Ulm is kept locked away, and each use is carefully recorded.
Still, the police believe the hospital’s morphine was used to poison the babies.
According to hospital doctors, the suspect had access to the morphine storage unit on the ward.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/30/world/europe/germany-nurse-infants-morphine.html