Lucy Letby: Hospital bosses were misled, former chair claims

The erstwhile seat of the NHS spot wherever serial slayer Lucy Letby worked believes the committee was "misled" by infirmary executives.

The caregiver was convicted connected Friday of murdering 7 babies and trying to execution different six astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital.

Sir Duncan Nichol, who was the board's chair, said it was told determination was "no transgression enactment pointing to immoderate 1 individual" contempt concerns.

Letby targeted the babies betwixt June 2015 and June 2016, erstwhile they were dying oregon abruptly collapsing astatine 5 times the mean yearly complaint astatine the hospital's neonatal unit.

However the committee was not alerted to the problems until July 2016, by which clip 13 babies had died.

At a meeting, the committee past agreed to inquire for the deaths to beryllium externally investigated.

The spot initially turned to the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, who conducted a reappraisal of the portion but told the infirmary executives they should behaviour a abstracted "thorough outer autarkic reappraisal of each unexpected neonatal death".

Ian Harvey, who was past aesculapian manager astatine the hospital, contacted London-based neonatologist Dr Jane Hawdon.

The doctor, who specialises successful the attraction of newborns, did a little reappraisal of each baby's aesculapian notes.

However she told the spot she did not person the clip to behaviour the thorough probe the Royal College had recommended.

It is understood Dr Hawdon did not talk straight to the committee but sent her study and it was up to executives to little the committee connected its findings.

In a connection to the BBC, Sir Duncan said: "I judge that the committee was misled successful December 2016 erstwhile it received a study connected the result of the external, autarkic lawsuit reviews.

"We were told explicitly that determination was nary transgression enactment pointing to immoderate 1 individual, erstwhile successful information the investigating neonatologist had stated that she had not had the clip to implicit the indispensable in-depth lawsuit reviews."

In effect to Sir Duncan's statement, the hospital's past main enforcement Tony Chambers - who went connected to pb 3 different NHS trusts connected an interim ground aft leaving Chester successful 2018 - said that "what was shared with the committee was honorable and unfastened and represented our champion knowing of the result of the reviews astatine the time".

In a BBC interview, Dr Susan Gilby - different erstwhile main enforcement astatine the infirmary - said she besides had concerns the committee whitethorn person been misled.

When she joined the spot soon aft Letby's apprehension successful 2018, she examined interior accusation astir the nurse's actions.

"The documents that I person seen from the neonatologist [Dr Hawdon] and the briefing and the papers that were presented to the committee are diametrically opposed.

"It's hard to recognize - unless determination is thing that I haven't seen - however the committee were led to judge that a broad reappraisal had taken place."

Mr Harvey, who was aesculapian manager astatine the infirmary spot until 2018, said: "The statements I gave to the committee were existent to the champion of my knowledge."

Three years ago, Sir Duncan, who stepped down successful 2019, and Dr Gilby commissioned an outer reappraisal by the wellness consultancy Facere Melius into however the infirmary spot had handled the allegations.

It has not been published.

Both person welcomed the nationalist enquiry into the events astatine the spot and said they would cooperate.

Paediatric consultants who raised concerns astir Letby's behaviour person precocious told the BBC of being bullied, ignored and forced to nonstop her a missive of apology.