Letby case: calls for corporate manslaughter investigation

There have been calls for executives working at the hospital trust where Lucy Letby killed seven babies to be investigated for corporate manslaughter after warnings were apparently ignored.

Neonatal nurse Letby was convicted of the murder of seven babies, and the attempted murder of six more, during her time in the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester hospital in north-west England, on Friday (18 August).

Ministers have also now ordered an independent inquiry into how this was allowed to happen.

Dr Dewi Evans, the key medical expert for the prosecution in the case, told the Observer newspaper this weekend that NHS executives who had been warned about suspicious circumstances had been “grossly negligent” for not acting on fears.

One whistleblower, Dr Stephen Brearey, told newspapers he felt bosses had been neglectful because they failed to contact the police earlier. The court heard of deaths that occurred in 2015 and 2016, but police were finally contacted in 2017, and Letby arrested in 2018.

Senior doctors warned executives of her link to a number of unusual deaths in July 2015 after three babies died and another suffered a near-fatal deterioration in the space of two weeks. A formal investigation was only launched in July 2016, when she was removed from the unit.

Evans believes that three murders could have been prevented if executives had acted earlier on concerns. A two-page review after the investigation seemed to blame other NHS services for the spike in deaths, and claimed there was no evidence against Letby, and that the deaths were a coincidence.

Speaking after the guilty verdict on Friday, Dr Nigel Scawn, the medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital, said: “We are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of the babies who came to harm or died. Our staff are devastated by what happened and we are committed to ensuring lessons continue to be learned.”

Letby also worked at Liverpool Women’s Hospital between 2010 and 2016, and detectives have asked specialists to examine the records of more than 4,000 infants born at both hospitals during that period, amid fears she may have been responsible for more infant deaths.

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