A healthcare professional has been arrested on suspicion of murder, rape and sexual assault as part of a police investigations into the stroke unit at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Lancashire constabulary said the man was arrested on Wednesday as part of the murder investigation into the death of a 75-year-old at the hospital on 16 November 2018. A spokesperson for the force said the man was in being held in custody on suspicion of murder, two offences of rape and one offence of sexual assault and had been suspended by the Blackpool teaching hospitals NHS trust. The force began looking into allegations of mistreatment and neglect on the hospital’s stroke unit in November 2018 and a number of postmortem examinations were conducted. These included one on Valerie Kneale, 75, from Blackpool. A murder investigation was launched when it was revealed she died from a non-medical related internal injury. The force said that as a result of their inquiries, information related to other allegations of serious sexual assaults against two patients has also been received, as well as the sexual assault of a healthcare professional working on the stroke unit. A separate investigation into suspected poisoning of patients on the unit is ongoing, during which seven healthcare professionals have previously been arrested. DCI Jill Johnston said the force recognise the arrest and the nature of the allegations would cause some alarm, but sought to reassure the public a major investigation was ongoing. She said: “We have today arrested a man in connection with a number of serious offences. We understand this will cause some significant concern in the community but please be reassured we have a dedicated team of officers conducting a number of inquiries. “These are complicated and sensitive allegations which we are committed to investigating thoroughly. We are offering support to those involved and they are being updated throughout the process by trained officers. “Our priority and the priority of Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS foundation trust is to ensure the safety of patients. We are working closely with the trust as well as HM coroner for Blackpool and Fylde as part of the investigation. “If you have any information or have worked on the stroke unit and can assist with our inquiries, please come forward and speak to police immediately.”