During an inquiry into the case of Lucy Letby, a nurse found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others, the former chief executive of the hospital where the crimes occurred has disclosed that Letby’s father made threats at a meeting between the two. Tony Chambers was head of the Countess of Chester Hospital during 2015 and 2016, the period when Letby carried out her offences. He told the inquiry that he, along with the rest of the board, did not notice an increase in the infant death rate on the neonatal unit nor did they appreciate what was behind it. Letby was sentenced for the murders in June.
Nicholas de la Poer KC, counsel to the inquiry, questioned Chambers with regards to a meeting he had with Letby and her family in December 2016, after their grievance had been upheld. Chambers told Letby that she would be able to return to the unit and that she had shown great resilience, something that her father was pleased to hear. However, Chambers also disclosed that John Letby, Lucy’s father, was very angry and he made threats that would have caused further problems.
Letby’s father requested that the consultants who had accused his daughter of harming the babies be reported to the General Medical Council. Chambers admitted that he did not handle the meeting well, saying that he was trying to keep it from escalating. He told Letby that they were behind her and accepted that he used clumsy language.
Chambers also told Letby that the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health’s independent review into neonatal mortality had vindicated her and her work on the unit. The RCPCH had investigated the death rate on the unit but failed to look into any individual’s links to incidents.
Earlier in the inquiry, it was disclosed that following a meeting with paediatricians on 29 June 2016, Chambers first discovered that Letby was linked to unexplained deaths and collapses of babies. Letby was placed on leave thereafter, never to return to the unit. After consultations with criminal barrister Simon Medland QC, Chambers contacted the police to report the suspicions against Letby. During the inquiry, Mr de la Poer suggested that Chambers tried to discourage the police investigation, but he strongly denied this claim.
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