Detectives have been investigating the deaths of 15 babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016.
The county's police force today confirmed they had arrested a woman who they described only as 'a healthcare professional' this morning.
She is being questioned of suspicion of having murdered eight of the children and attempting to murder six others.
Detective Inspector Paul Hughes, who is in charge of the investigation, described the arrest as a 'significant step forward'.
He revealed the scope of the probe had been widened since police took up the case and they are now examining the care of 32 babies, 17 of whom had died.
DI Hughes said: 'When the investigation was first launched it was focusing on the deaths of 15 babies that occurred between the period of June 2015 and June 2016.
'In addition the investigation was also conducting a review of six non-fatal collapses during the same period.
The police inquiries came after a damning report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) could not find a reason for the rise in baby deaths from June 2015 to June 2016.
The report identified significant gaps in medical and nursing rotas, insufficient senior doctor cover, poor decision making and a reluctance by some staff to seek advice from colleagues.
While just two babies died on the unit in 2013 and three in 2014, mortality rates jumped to eight deaths in 2015 and by June last year five babies had already died there.
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