Lucy Letby, a killer nurse who was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder another seven between June 2015 and June 2016, may have been prevented from attacking more infants due to the “tenacious lobbying” of senior consultants, a public inquiry has heard. The case is the subject of the Thirlwall Inquiry, which seeks to investigate Letby’s ability to carry out a killing spree on the neonatal unit of the Countess of Chester Hospital. The first live hearing of the inquiry took place recently, chaired by Lady Justice Thirlwall.
The inquiry also examined the case of killer nurse Beverley Allitt, who killed four babies at Grantham and Kesteven Hospital in 1991, as part of Letby’s training. Rachel Langdale KC, who spoke at the inquiry, outlined potential “missed opportunities” to stop Letby. In June 2015, concerns about the third death of a baby in the unit in the space of two weeks were raised. Despite this, the case was discussed in a high-level meeting, which concluded that “no further investigation was warranted”.
By February 2016, consultants on the unit, including Dr Stephen Brearey, began to question Letby’s presence at a number of unexpected and unexplained incidents. Dr Brearey recalled that six of the nine babies had collapsed between 00:00 and 04:00, and that Letby had been present. In June of that year following further deaths, Letby was moved off the ward, into a backroom team without patient contact.
However, discussions about moving Letby back to the ward resumed in January 2017, which was prevented due to staffing pressures. Letby was told she would be moved onto the ward again in April 2017, which led to a backlash from senior consultants. Ms Langdale said, “Her planned return to the ward on 3 April 2017 only appears to have been stopped because of the tenacious lobbying of the consultants. But for their determined approach, it appears likely that she would have been permitted to return to dealing with babies.”
Serial killers, in general, are skilled at hiding in plain sight, and Letby’s motive or mindset would not be speculated upon during the inquiry, Ms Langdale added
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