18 May 2015

Stepping Hill nurse Victorino Chua convicted of two murders

One of the victims of poisoner Victorino Chua might never recover from the serious brain damage he suffered at the nurse’s hands, according to his lawyer.

Grant Misell, 41, is no longer able to continue his previous employment as a corporate treasurer and faces a lengthy rehabilitation process, with his quality of life “greatly diminished”.

After being admitted to Stepping Hill Hospital he was left in the sole care of Chua, who administered a saline drip which was contaminated with insulin during his nightshift.

At the handover to dayshift nurses, Chua recorded Mr Misell as “alert” but half an hour later Mr Misell was found, twitching, deeply unconscious and at one point stopped breathing.

His blood sugar level was “life-threateningly low” and he was transferred to intensive care and survived but suffered brain damage through lack of oxygen Law firm Slater and Gordon is representing Mr Misell in a civil claim against the hospital trust.

Read Simon Israel blog: Police warned government over fraud linked to poison-nurse

Clinical negligence lawyer Stephen Jones said: “While Mr Misell is considered to be one of the survivors of what happened at Stepping Hill, the incident resulted in serious brain damage from which he may never recover.

“He suffers from memory loss, struggles to concentrate or make decisions and still sometimes slurs when speaking. This has affected his confidence and it has been recommended that he has treatment for depression and post-traumatic stress.

“Prior to the incident, Mr Misell had worked hard for many years as a corporate treasurer. However, he no longer possesses the mental ability to work in this capacity and his quality of life is greatly diminished as he is now financially extremely vulnerable.

“Not only has this affected Mr Misell but it has also been a deeply distressing ordeal for his family who at one point were told to prepare for the worst and thought they might lose him for good.

Sentencing expected

Mr Justice Openshaw told the jury he will sentence Chua tomorrow, with many relatives of his victims expected to attend the hearing to see him jailed for life.

He told jurors: “My thanks, and the thanks of the community, for the part you have played in the administration of justice in this very important trial.” He told jurors they were excused for life from serving on a jury again, if they so wish.

Police and detectives hugged members of the legal team after the jury left court.

Operation Roxburg, a multimillion-pound three-and-a-half-year police investigation, was one of the biggest and most complex launched by Greater Manchester Police, involving 7,700 police actions, 659 witnesses, a 28,100-page prosecution file and 16,000 items of unused evidence material.

Outside court, Detective Superintendent Simon Barraclough said: “It’s been a search for the truth and the jury has reached the right decision.”