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An inquiry has revealed that Lucy Letby was not reported to the nursing regulator despite concerns she may have been killing babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital. Doctors had raised concerns to hospital bosses in June 2016 following the deaths of two triplet boys on the neonatal unit. However, a referee was not made because there was a “lack of evidence” that Letby was deliberately harming babies.
The Thirlwall Inquiry heard that instead of reporting the matter to the police, senior managers decided to commission a series of reviews into the increase of baby deaths. The Director of Nursing phoned a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) employer link representative, Tony Newman, on 6 July 2016. The inquiry heard that Newman was told there was a “rise in mortality of babies” but that Kelly did not name a nurse as the potential suspect.
Newman told the inquiry that he advised Kelly that the health trust should carry out its own investigation into the matter. There was “no allegation and no evidence” to support a fitness to practise referral for Letby, he explained. He added that the Nursing and Midwifery Council exists to protect the public but that there must be clear information and evidence before someone’s practice can be restricted. Newman felt that had Kelly suspected that Letby could be harming babies deliberately and shared this with him, he would have recommended a referral and contacted the police, even if evidence was lacking.
Letby was convicted for murdering seven babies and attempting to kill seven others between June 2015 and June 2016, with two attempts on one of her victims. The inquiry is slated to resume in January when it will hear its final two weeks of evidence, with the findings expected to be released in autumn 2025. Post-conviction, Letby has been stripped of her nursing credentials and struck off at an NMC fitness to practise hearing in December 2023
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