Inquiry reveals failures in safeguarding at Countess of Chester Hospital
British nurse Lucy Letby was able to murder seven newborns because of a “complete failure” to protect babies at the hospital at which she worked, and some of the deaths could have been avoided, the chair of an inquiry said on Tuesday, reports BritPanorama.
Inquiry chair Kathryn Thirlwall criticized senior staff for not acting sooner, blaming dysfunctional management at the Countess of Chester Hospital in northern England and a basic lack of understanding of safeguarding.
Letby, 36, was convicted in 2023 of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others, making her Britain’s most prolific serial child killer of modern times. She was later convicted of another attempted murder charge.
Prosecutors said Letby attacked the newborns by giving them an overdose of insulin, injecting them with air, or force-feeding them milk between June 2015 and June 2016, a case that shocked Britain and drew worldwide attention.
However, Letby, who was sentenced to life without parole and maintains she is innocent, has been the subject of a growing campaign, backed by some medical experts and specialists, which has publicly questioned her convictions.
Thirlwall did not address Letby‘s guilt or innocence in her report, focusing instead on the Countess of Chester Hospital’s response and whether suspicions should have been raised earlier. “My focus has been on the questions asked in the inquiry’s terms of reference, not on the guilt of Lucy Letby or on her convictions,” Thirlwall said.
The contents of her report will be scrutinized by those asserting Letby‘s innocence and examined by the Criminal Cases Review Commission, which is considering an application from Letby‘s legal team for a potential miscarriage of justice.
“Once there was suspicion that Letby may be causing harm deliberately, safeguarding steps should have been taken,” Thirlwall stated while delivering her final report. She added, “No one seems to have thought that safeguarding action is required when a member of staff is suspected of causing deliberate harm. Suspicion is enough.”
She made a series of recommendations to enhance neonatal services within the state-run National Health Service, calling on the government to address the “long-standing underfunding of hospital services for babies and children.”
Thirlwall also proposed additional protective measures, including fitting cots and incubators with cameras, stronger insulin storage safeguards, and an NHS protocol for situations where staff are suspected of deliberately harming a patient.
Her report was particularly critical of senior executives and nursing leaders at the Countess of Chester Hospital, asserting that at least some of Letby‘s crimes could have been prevented if action had been taken sooner.
Three senior hospital managers were arrested last year on suspicion of gross negligence manslaughter and remain under investigation, according to Cheshire Police, with one also suspected of perverting the course of justice.
Evidence submitted by the force in support of further charges relating to Letby‘s time working at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital was deemed insufficient by prosecutors last year.
