Britons have been shaken by the ongoing story of Lucy Letby, a young female nurse found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder six others during her time at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Committed between 2015 and 2016, following Letby’s 10-month trial period, these crimes have been described as possible proof that “the Devil really does walk among us,” with the name Lucy Letby now “seared into the national conscience.” And now another story is rising in prominence: how Britain’s National Health Service (NHS) allowed Letby to get away with these atrocities for so long.
The 33-year-old nurse poisoned babies put into her care with insulin, injected air into their blood and stomachs, and was also found to have overfed and physically assaulted them. Police fear she may also have attacked 30 more babies. Letby searched Facebook for the parents of the children involved and, in a “final act of wickedness,” refused to appear at her own sentencing.
Reports now show that the medical director at Letby’s workplace, the Countess of Chester hospital, failed to respond to a request for a meeting about unexplained baby deaths for three months, during which time two babies almost died.
The head paediatric consultant on Letby’s unit said there was nothing to explain why, at one stage, three deaths were recorded in just 14 days. When he discovered that Letby was the only nurse on shift during all of the incidents, he took these findings to the director of nursing and was told: “It can’t be Lucy. Not nice Lucy.”
According to The Daily Telegraph, consultants were “pressured … to stop communicating their concerns about Letby.”
David E. Ward, a retired cardiac electrophysiologist who now supports healthcare whistleblowers, told the paper that managers who failed to acknowledge the severity of concerns “are not accountable to anyone. They’ve got blood on their hands.”
So serious is the case that there are calls for an official inquiry headed by a minister-appointed judge. This would hand the investigation powers to compel witnesses to give evidence. Tory MP Steve Brine said this was important because some such witnesses “may not be so willing” to cooperate.
Jane Tomkinson, acting chief executive officer at the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, quoted in the BBC, said her trust welcomed news of a formal inquiry and would support investigations.
