During his appearance at the Thirlwall Inquiry at Liverpool town hall, former health secretary Jeremy Hunt expressed his regret to the families of Lucy Letby’s victims. Hunt said that Letby’s appalling crimes occurred “on [his] watch”. Letby, 35, was able to kill seven babies and attempt to kill seven others while working at the Countess of Chester hospital between 2015 and 2016. The inquiry aims to establish how she was allowed to do so.
Although not entirely responsible for every ward in the NHS, Hunt acknowledged his ultimate responsibility for the NHS as health secretary. He apologized for any negligence that could have prevented such an atrocity from happening at the hospital. According to Hunt, lessons were not learned from previous healthcare inquiries, and appropriate systems were not in place that could have prevented this tragedy.
Medical examiners were one of the measures that could have averted Lucy Letby’s heinous crimes. Medical examiners provide independent scrutiny of causes of death, work with coroners, review medical records, and address families’ concerns. Hunt emphasized that this system could have helped detect signs or patterns of malicious harm by a healthcare professional. Medical examiners were first suggested in 2004 and then recommended further in a 2013 report, but the system was only funded in 2023, when Hunt was Chancellor.
A non-statutory rollout of medical examiners in England and Wales began in 2019, and since September 2020, all uninvestigated deaths in any health setting are reviewed nationwide by NHS medical examiners. Hunt said that when the medical examiner system works well, it is immensely vital for a healthcare system because families who have been bereaved can talk to an independent professional and raise concerns.
During his talk, Hunt also mentioned that historically, not enough doctors were trained in the UK’s medical education system. He said that he had increased training places by 25% in 2016 and doubled them again later. He acknowledged that despite his efforts, it still takes seven years to produce qualified doctors. The inquiry is ongoing
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