Letby unit staff 'felt unable to raise concerns'

Letby has been sentenced to 15 whole life terms for murdering and attempting to murder babies

A consultant has told the public inquiry into Lucy Letby’s crimes that staff on the neonatal unit felt unable to raise concerns with hospital management, who she described as “detached” and “impersonal”.

Doctor Elizabeth Newby worked as a consultant paediatrician at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2006 and February 2016, the Thirlwall Inquiry heard.

She said there had been an "adversarial atmosphere" between doctors and nurses as suspicions grew and senior managers "didn’t feel welcoming".

"It didn’t feel like you could just walk up and bang on their door and say, ‘I’ve got a problem’," she added.

Dr Newby told the inquiry at Liverpool Town Hall that she had been given safeguarding training, but not specifically about what to do if she suspected a member of staff was deliberately harming babies.

She said she believed she should have had such training.

Dr Newby was involved in the care of one of Letby’s victims, known as Baby D, who was murdered in June 2015.

'Air of disbelief'

Letby, a neonatal nurse, had already murdered two babies and attempted to murder a third infant before Baby D's death.

Dr Newby told the inquiry that as 2015 went into 2016 “the thought that something awful could be happening solidified in people’s minds".

"It was completely out of normality that we should have so many deaths on the [neonatal] unit," she said. "There was an air of disbelief about it."

She added: "The only thing we could say was that [Letby] happened to be on all the shifts [when unexpected deaths or collapses happened].

"No-one had seen or heard anything. There were lots of counter arguments - she was a very, very competent nurse.

"Everyone had observed good practice. It became a very difficult situation as to know where to go.”

Letby killed seven babies and attempted to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between June 2015 and June 2016

Nicholas de la Poer KC, counsel to the inquiry, asked her why all seven consultants in the department had not got together to talk about what was happening.

Dr Newby replied: “I don’t know. There was a bit of disbelief about it, really.”

Mr de la Poer asked her if she should have contacted the coroner to say there were concerns about what was going on at the neonatal unit.

Dr Newby replied: “Yes. At the end of the day, yes.”

She said she had struggled with the idea that somebody was harming babies.

She said that as suspicions about Letby had grown, there had been an adversarial atmosphere on the neonatal unit where people thought doctors were accusing the nurses.

“Everyone was digging in their positions, where maybe what we had to say was 'this isn’t right'," she added.

'Media spotlight'

Dr Murthy Saladi, another consultant paediatrician, also gave evidence and said he will "feel guilty for the rest of his life" that he couldn’t prevent the deaths.

He said the hospital had asked the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) to review the neonatal unit in 2016.

At a meeting around June that year, Dr Saladi said managers expressed concern that if the hospital called in the police, “the media spotlight will be on us - no-one will be coming to the labour ward.”

He said managers told him if an independent review showed there was a problem then they would go to the police.

Letby was removed from clinical duties In July 2016, but the hospital did not contact police until May 2017.

At a meeting in January 2017 to discuss the RCPCH report, Dr Saladi said the then chief executive of the hospital trust, Tony Chambers, was "red faced, angry and banging on the table".

'Hushed up'

Dr Saladi said Mr Chambers told the meeting they were "drawing a line" under it, and there was discussion about doctors apologising to Letby.

He said by February 2017 relations between senior staff and consultants had “broken down”.

“They were not sharing information and we had to fight for it," he said.

Asked about the possibility of Letby returning to the neonatal unit at this time, Dr Saladi said: "We [the consultants] were discussing contacting the media and giving our concerns that this is all being hushed up by the trust."

Dr Saladi said the trust had used the RCPCH review to “show our department in a bad way and used it to say all the deaths and collapses were due to a poorly run department".

He apologised to the parents of Letby's victims for not being able to prevent the murders.

“It is a guilty feeling that I carry and I think I will carry for the rest of my life," he said.

"I am profoundly sorry for that.”

Letby, originally from Hereford, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven others - including one she tried to kill twice.

She is serving 15 whole-life prison terms.

The inquiry continues.