Inquiry after patients 'stop breathing'

A nurse has been questioned by police after suspicions were raised about the care of ten patients at an Oxfordshire hospital.

An investigation into treatment at the Horton Hospital, Banbury, led to the arrest of a 23-year-old man on Monday.

The patients were being treated at different times in Accident and Emergency when they stopped breathing.

Thames Valley Police bailed the man on Tuesday pending further inquiries but the nurse remains suspended from work.

Internal inquiry

A spokeswoman for the hospital said: "The patients came in with a variety of problems.

"But the common factor was that they all stopped breathing when in the department, in a way that could not be easily explained."

She emphasised that all the patients concerned had started breathing again.

The nurse was immediately suspended pending an internal inquiry.