Wiltshire Police have arrested two ambulance service employees on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter as part of a major investigation into the deaths of six adults in and around Wiltshire, detaining a man in his 30s last year and a 59-year-old woman in March before releasing both on conditional bail while inquiries continue. In a statement confirming the long-running inquiry, Detective Chief Inspector Phil Walker of the force’s Major Crime Investigation Team said: “We can confirm that a major investigation is underway relating to several adult deaths in and around Wiltshire,” adding that the work “has been ongoing since an initial report was made to Wiltshire Police in 2023.” He said a man from West Wiltshire was arrested in June 2024 “on suspicion of six counts of gross negligence manslaughter and four counts of ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a care worker,” and that “in March this year, we arrested a 59-year-old woman on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter.” 
Police named neither suspect and did not release the dates or locations of the deaths, citing the sensitivity of the cases and the need to support bereaved families while detectives assess evidence gathered over nearly two years. “Both have been released on conditional bail while our enquiries continue,” the statement said. “Our focus is on supporting the families and loved ones of those who have died, and we would ask the media to respect their privacy at this time.” Wiltshire Police said both individuals were employed by the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT), which covers Wiltshire and the wider South West of England. 
SWASFT, in a statement carried by the force, said it had acted as soon as concerns were raised. “As soon as the Trust became aware of any concerns, we immediately initiated an internal investigation which resulted in a prompt police referral, and we have been working closely with them as part of the ongoing investigation,” a spokesperson said. “Two members of staff were suspended. The suspension of the two members of staff meant that they were immediately relieved of all duties, including the treatment of patients. We would like to reassure people that this is an isolated situation and there is no on-going risk to patients. Please continue to call 999 in a life-threatening emergency.” The trust added: “One of the two individuals that were initially suspended, is no longer employed by the Trust,” and said it would not comment further while the police inquiry proceeds. 
The arrests, disclosed on Friday, were not the first steps in the case. According to Wiltshire Police, the investigation began after an initial report in 2023 led to “detailed enquiries” to establish the facts before arrests were made in stages, with the male employee detained last June and the female colleague held nine months later. The force did not specify whether the deaths occurred at people’s homes, in public settings or inside health facilities, nor whether the six cases were linked by geography or time beyond taking place “in and around Wiltshire.” 
External summaries of the announcement said both suspects were, at the time of their arrests, serving employees of the regional ambulance trust and that one has since left. They also said detectives are treating the matter as an isolated incident without wider implications for emergency response, a point the police and the trust both emphasised in urging the public to continue using 999. Several outlets reported the same headline particulars set out by the police—six deaths under investigation; arrests on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter; conditional bail; and the additional suspicion of four counts of ill-treatment or wilful neglect for the man in his 30s. 
While neither Wiltshire Police nor SWASFT offered operational detail on the suspect roles or posting locations within the ambulance service, the trust’s published material describes a large footprint that includes Wiltshire among counties across the South West, with more than 90 ambulance stations, two Emergency Operations Centres and Hazardous Area Response Teams supporting emergency care across a largely rural area punctuated by urban centres in Bristol, Swindon, Bath, Gloucester, Bournemouth and Poole. The trust says it serves “a total population of over 5.5 million” and routinely manages around a million incidents a year, figures that reflect the scale of its operations and the potential breadth of internal inquiries when concerns are raised. 
The legal framework cited by Wiltshire Police—gross negligence manslaughter and, in the case of the younger suspect, alleged ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a care worker—signals that investigators are scrutinising whether any acts or omissions during the provision of care might meet the high threshold for criminal liability in deaths that are not alleged to involve intent to kill. Police did not outline the evidential basis of the arrests or the investigative steps completed so far, beyond confirming the two arrests, conditional bail, and continuing engagement with the affected families as the inquiry progresses. The trust said suspensions imposed at the outset ensured the staff concerned were “immediately relieved of all duties, including the treatment of patients,” a measure intended to separate the staff from frontline care while the facts are established. 
The investigation is being led by the force’s Major Crime Investigation Team, which handles the county’s most serious and complex cases. In keeping with practice for sensitive inquiries where next of kin are central to the process and criminal charges may follow, Wiltshire Police urged restraint in speculation and said it would not comment further at this stage. The force invited anyone with information to contact detectives through a dedicated channel. 
Public-facing summaries from national and regional newsrooms matched the police timeline and the trust’s account of its internal response, reporting that the man was arrested in June 2024 on suspicion of six counts of gross negligence manslaughter and four counts of ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a care worker, and that the woman was arrested in March 2025 on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter. The reports said both individuals were released on conditional bail and that one is no longer employed by the trust. Officials stressed, in line with the police statement, that the matter appears isolated and that there is “no on-going risk to patients,” with emergency calls to 999 unaffected. 
The location of the inquiry—“in and around Wiltshire”—covers a diverse mix of communities, from market towns and villages to the larger centres of Swindon and Salisbury, where ambulance crews are often the first point of contact for urgent care in a county with significant rural stretches. SWASFT’s area extends beyond county borders under the NHS regional model, and since absorbing the former Great Western Ambulance Service in 2013, the trust has operated as the single ambulance provider across the South West, integrating call-handling, dispatch and frontline crews across 10,000 square miles. That footprint explains how a trust-level referral could encompass multiple incidents across different localities while still sitting within a single regional framework for oversight and safeguarding. 
In its brief statement, SWASFT made clear that its first steps were to launch an internal investigation and refer the matter to police promptly. The trust’s assurance that the situation is “isolated” and that there is “no on-going risk to patients” directly addressed the anxiety that typically accompanies news of arrests within emergency services, where the public’s reliance on rapid, competent care is acute and persistent. The request to “Please continue to call 999 in a life-threatening emergency” echoed the police’s own message that patient safety and access to emergency response remain unaffected by the inquiry. 
News organisations that carried the essentials of Wiltshire Police’s announcement reported that detectives opened the wider inquiry after an initial report two years ago and have coordinated their work with the ambulance trust since the internal probe began. Those accounts, based on police statements and trust comments, did not add new allegations beyond the arrest suspicions and did not suggest any continuing operational risk in ambulance coverage. They did, however, reaffirm that the suspects were suspended swiftly and that one of them has since left employment, aligning with SWASFT’s effort to reassure patients and families. 
Gross negligence manslaughter cases in health and care settings are rare and typically take months or years to move from arrest to any charging decision as investigators collate clinical records, expert opinions and witness testimony to determine whether the threshold for criminal prosecution is met. Wiltshire Police did not set out a timetable for the next phase of its inquiry or indicate when it might send a file to prosecutors. The force has asked for the privacy of the families involved to be respected and has warned that speculation risks compounding their distress while detectives continue their work. 
SWASFT oversees emergency ambulance services across a large and varied region, with its own material describing more than 90 stations, two Emergency Operations Centres that answer 999 calls and specialist Hazardous Area Response Teams for complex incidents. The trust says it serves “a total population of over 5.5 million” residents and large seasonal visitor numbers. That scale, and the volume of calls handled each year, mean any internal alert triggering a police referral is treated within established safeguarding structures designed to insulate day-to-day emergency response from the impact of personnel investigations. 
As of Friday afternoon, Wiltshire Police’s public statement remained the central source for confirmed facts: six adult deaths are under investigation; a man in his 30s and a 59-year-old woman—both ambulance trust employees at the time of their arrests—have been arrested on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter; the man also faces suspicion of four counts of ill-treatment or wilful neglect by a care worker; both were released on conditional bail; one no longer works for the trust; and the case is being handled by the Major Crime Investigation Team, which continues to liaise with families and the ambulance service. The trust and police both described the circumstances as isolated and urged the public to continue using emergency services in the usual way. 
In the absence of further detail from investigators, the next formal development is likely to come when Wiltshire Police completes this phase of evidence-gathering and determines whether to refer a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision, or to take other steps consistent with the facts as established. Until then, the trust’s assurances and the police’s emphasis on privacy for the families frame a careful public posture: confirm the arrests and the scope of the inquiry; underline that emergency cover is unaffected; and avoid prejudicing a case that, by definition, turns on painstaking reconstruction of clinical encounters that ended in loss of life. 
Sky News and other outlets, citing the same police statement, reported that detectives are appealing for information and that anyone with relevant details is urged to contact Wiltshire Police. The force provided a link for submissions and said it would not be appropriate to comment further while the inquiry is active. In this phase of a major crime investigation within the health system, the formal record remains deliberately spare: the arrests, the suspensions, the reassurance about patient safety, and the promise of updates when the facts can be set out without jeopardising the integrity of the case. 
