Maniac with a grudge could be sabotaging vital hospital equipment

A hospital worker with a grudge against the NHS may be trying to kill patients by sabotaging crucial equipment, police fear.

They launched a manhunt after tubes on portable oxygen cylinders – used to help save heart attack victims – were found to have been deliberately blocked.

A top-level warning has been issued to hospital staff, and police are trying to catch the saboteur before a patient dies.

The attacks came to light when doctors who were giving a patient oxygen noticed that no gas was coming through, even though they could hear it flowing around the tank.

They found that a valve which links the cylinder to the face mask had been blocked by a substance which police are refusing to identify. An alternative oxygen supply was provided and the patient survived.

Urgent checks were carried out and two more cylinders were found to have been obstructed in the same way, using the same material.

They were in different areas of the same hospital block, making it unlikely a patient or visitor was responsible.

The drama happened at Sandwell General Hospital in West Bromwich, West Midlands.

One theory is that the vandalism is the work of a member of staff with a grudge against hospital managers or the NHS itself.

The Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Hospitals Trust, which runs Sandwell General, has issued a warning to staff there and at their other two hospitals – City Hospital in Winson Green, Birmingham, and Rowley Regis Hospital in the West Midlands.

Notices have been pinned up, which picture the cylinders and read: "Over the last month, the tubing connector port has been found to be blocked.

"Please ensure you have oxygen flow to the mask when using these cylinders." It stresses that checks must be made before every use.

A trust spokesman said: "We have notified all the relevant agencies, including the police, who are investigating. The trust is co-operating fully with the police and anyone with any information should contact Crimestoppers.

"Staff routinely check that oxygen cylinders are full and listen to ensure oxygen is flowing. Since the incident we have asked staff to be extra vigilant and ensure they can feel the flow of air in the mask itself.

"The other cylinders that were found to be blocked were not in use and there has not been any further incident involving patients."

The trust has about 100 cylinders, each containing 200 litres of compressed oxygen. The gas is commonly used to help heart attack victims and patients with severe breathing difficulties.

It is administered either from portable cylinders at the bedside or from fixed tanks in operating theatres and specialist units.

The Department of Health issued new guidance on the use of oxygen equipment after a sabotage scare six years ago in which a nine-year-old boy died.

Tony Clowes's oxygen tube became blocked during minor surgery at Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford, Essex.

Police discovered 12 similar incidents over 14 years, in which the patients survived. But it emerged that the blockages were the result of poor working practices among staff.