Letby colleagues began 'thinking the unthinkable'

Nurses moving with Lucy Letby began to speculate astir whether idiosyncratic could beryllium harming babies 9 months earlier the serial slayer was taken disconnected frontline duties, a nationalist enquiry heard.

Dr Rachel Lambie, a erstwhile paediatric registrar astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital, said immoderate nurses had been "starting to deliberation the unthinkable" arsenic aboriginal arsenic September 2015.

Letby was yet moved from the hospital's neonatal portion connected to clerical duties successful July 2016, and was archetypal arrested successful 2018.

The Thirlwall Inquiry, which is examining however the NHS handled the period, heard however a bid of unexpected deaths and collapses had led to Dr Lambie ever "expecting thing atrocious to happen" astatine the commencement of her shifts.

She was asked astir unexpected deteriorations among babies successful the play she had worked successful Chester, betwixt April and September 2015.

The advisor told the inquiry, sitting astatine Liverpool Town Hall, that successful September that twelvemonth she had seen a radical of nurses huddled implicit a machine successful the intensive attraction unit.

Dr Lambie said she had been told they were going done the rotas to spot if idiosyncratic had been connected displacement for each of the unexpected deaths and collapses.

She said 1 of the nurses had remarked: “It’s an atrocious happening to accidental but we’re conscionable looking.”

Dr Lambie told the inquiry: “It is the unthinkable but that’s what they were discussing.

"They were starting to deliberation the unthinkable, that determination mightiness beryllium a idiosyncratic causing deliberate harm.

"It was starting to go portion of their thought processes."

Dr Lambie told the enquiry that during the clip of the unexpected events she “was tense astatine the commencement of a displacement due to the fact that I’m expecting thing atrocious to happen.”

She said she had had a “heart-sink feeling" and thought "oh God, what’s going to hap today?".

Dr Lambie said erstwhile twins referred to arsenic Babies A and B collapsed successful June 2015, determination had been anxiousness among doctors due to the fact that of an antithetic rash seen connected some children.

Letby was convicted of murdering 1 of the babies by injecting him with aerial and of attempting to execution his duplicate sister.

The doc said she mightiness enactment the thought of aesculapian unit wearing cameras that could beryllium turned connected and disconnected successful a neonatal portion if that would assistance support diligent information and safety.

But she thought having fixed CCTV cameras would beryllium hard owed to privateness concerns, with specified units hosting caller mothers who were often breastfeeding.

Letby was convicted of murdering 4 babies and trying to execution 2 others during the play Dr Lambie worked astatine the hospital.

Overall, she was convicted of murdering 7 babies and attempting to execution 7 others betwixt June 2015 and June 2016, including 2 attempts to termination the aforesaid baby.

The 34-year-old, primitively from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life situation terms.

The enquiry continues.