Victorino Chua, a 49-year-old father of two, attacked the very people he was supposed to be caring for. At the height of his poisoning spree, police even considered shutting down Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport.
Police believe the ‘narcissistic psychopath’ from the Philippines used forged qualifications to register as a nurse here. They even suspect that someone might have sat his nursing exam for him in his homeland.
Ahead of Chua’s sentencing today there were calls for a public inquiry and a review of how foreign nurses are recruited.
It can also be revealed that:
- Chua graduated from a nursing college now shut down amid concerns about its poor standards and finances;
- Lax vetting – including acceptance of photocopied documents – allowed him to register as a nurse in the UK;
- No checks were made with his employers at the Philippines hospital which he left after being accused of theft;
- Detectives fear Chua may have claimed the lives of other patients both here and in the Philippines;
- The trade in fake nursing qualifications that can be bought for as little as £43;
- Occupational therapists at Stepping Hill Hospital failed to raise concerns about Chua’s deteriorating mental state in the run-up to the poisonings;
- Victims of the poisonings are in line for millions of pounds in compensation payments from Chua’s NHS hospital trust;
- Chua, who became a British citizen in 2008, could use human rights laws to avoid deportation.
Last night, the recently retired prosecutor who helped bring Chua to justice said he believes there could be hundreds of nurses using fake qualifications in UK hospitals.
dailyuk.
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