Urgent care boss 'out of depth' over Letby claims

A infirmary manager said she felt “out of her depth” erstwhile dealing with doctors' concerns astir the serial slayer caregiver Lucy Letby.

Karen Townsend, divisional manager of urgent attraction astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital, was questioned astatine the nationalist enquiry into Letby's crimes astatine Liverpool Town Hall.

Ms Townsend was asked wherefore she did not instrumentality much enactment erstwhile elder doctors told her they were acrophobic that Letby was associated with an summation successful unexpected deaths and collapses connected the neonatal unit.

She told the enquiry she did not person "clinical insight" into the concern and was being led by however the "executive squad wanted to negociate it".

The Thirlwall Inquiry heard Ms Townsend became alert of concerns astatine a gathering with advisor Dr Ravi Jayaram astatine a java store successful the infirmary connected 24 June 2016.

The gathering took spot aft the decease of a triplet known arsenic Baby O, who Letby was aboriginal convicted of murdering, but earlier she killed the 2nd triplet, known arsenic Baby P.

The anticipation of calling successful the constabulary was past discussed astatine different gathering with elder managers connected 30 June 2016, but the enquiry heard this did not hap until 2017.

Ms Townsend was asked if she thought the constabulary should person been called by the extremity of June that year.

She said “I astir apt felt retired of my extent due to the fact that I didn’t person the objective insight, I didn’t person the objective cognition and this was a very, precise superior concern and I felt I was precise overmuch being led by however the enforcement squad wanted to negociate it astatine that clip due to the fact that of however atrocious a script it was.”

She was besides asked wherefore she did not adhd the concerns raised by Dr Jayaram - which helium told her were shared by his workfellow Dr Stephen Brearey - to the infirmary hazard registry aft their meeting.

Ms Townsend told the enquiry determination were "no details" shared astatine the "ad-hoc" gathering and added: “It was a precise vague reference, determination was nary grounds to substantiate [ the concerns]."

She said she did question proposal from Karen Rees, the caput of nursing successful urgent attraction astatine the time.

Asked wherefore she did not instantly pass the infirmary enforcement team, Ms Townsend said: "That was benignant of my naivety successful my relation but besides [Drs Jayaram and Brearey] had those concerns and evidently they had acold much item than I.”

She questioned wherefore the doctors had not gone to the enforcement squad themselves.

Richard Baker KC, a barrister representing immoderate of the families of Letby’s victims, pointed retired that the gathering Ms Townsend had with Dr Jayaram was taking spot astatine times erstwhile Letby was attacking Baby P.

He asked her: “On reflection bash you deliberation it required urgent enactment from you to region Lucy Letby [from the neonatal unit] ?”

Ms Townsend replied: “So each of what you've articulated I did not know.

"I had nary sight, nor did I perceive anything. The speech I had with Dr Jayaram was precise brief.

"He and Dr Brearey and immoderate of his colleagues had immoderate concerns.

"We didn't spell into immoderate item and determination was surely nary specifics that you've conscionable articulated.”

Mr Baker asked however overmuch item she would person needed earlier taking enactment if a doc said helium was disquieted astir a caregiver attacking babies.

She said: “The presumption 'attacking' and 'harming' weren't utilized astatine all."

Later, Ruth Millward, a diligent information manager, told the enquiry that determination was an unhealthy civilization successful the NHS to transcript radical into emails truthful radical tin accidental they person passed connected information.

Ms Millward, who was caput of hazard and diligent information astatine the hospital, was asked astir an email she and others received from a advisor successful March 2016 which identified a fig of unexpected deaths connected the neonatal portion and had a array showing which nurses were connected duty.

She said: "There’s a precise unhealthy civilization successful the NHS to transcript radical into emails truthful you tin accidental that you person told truthful and truthful erstwhile successful information you haven’t, and from what I tin callback of the email this is not a last report.

"The email had nary circumstantial instruction. It’s unfair to accidental I’m obliged to unfastened an email and unfastened an attachment and work it.”

She aboriginal said "at nary constituent did immoderate of the consultants accidental to maine ‘I americium acrophobic that Lucy Letby is deliberately harming babies’. That was ne'er voiced to maine and I don’t callback being successful a country erstwhile that was ever voiced."

Ms Millward said 1 of her reflections fixed successful her connection to the enquiry was that the consultants did not usage the hospital’s past governance processes to study their concerns.

When asked by counsel to the enquiry if this was wherefore the concerns were not efficaciously taken sufficiently seriously, she replied: “Absolutely.

"They didn’t bash that and due to the fact that they bypassed the strategy and had informal conversations with the enforcement squad there’s nary traceability, there’s nary transparency, there’s nary captious challenge."

Letby, primitively from Hereford, was yet convicted of murdering 7 babies and attempting to execution a further seven, including 2 attempts connected the aforesaid victim, each betwixt June 2015 and June 2016.

She is serving 15 full beingness situation presumption and has had appeals against her convictions rejected by the Court of Appeal.

The enquiry continues.