Letby nursing chief's 'call police' plea 'ignored'

The inquiry heard Lucy Letby was "80% more likely" to be on duty when babies collapsed at the hospital

Hospital executives ignored a nursing chief's pleas to call police after she was "spooked" by a baby's pattern of deteriorations when Lucy Letby was on duty, a public inquiry has heard.

The Countess of Chester Hospital's former deputy director of nursing Sian Williams was asked by her bosses in 2016 to analyse staffing rotas following a series of unexpected neo-natal unit deaths and collapses.

Ms Williams told the Thirlwall Inquiry examining how Letby was able to murder seven babies and attempt to murder seven others that the nurse had been "80% more likely to be on duty either during or before a baby collapsed".

Rather than calling police, the inquiry heard executives commissioned an external review and internal studies.

'Spooked'

The inquiry heard consultants warned bosses at the end of June 2016 that patient safety was at risk, and raised the possibility that Letby could deliberately harming babies.

Ms Williams said she presented her staffing analysis to the executive team in mid-July.

She said the results had been so stark that she had sought out medical director Ian Harvey the next day for a one-to-one meeting.

The nursing chief said she highlighted to him the repeated overnight collapses of one baby on three occasions when Letby was on duty.

The baby's condition stabilised during the day when Letby was not present, Ms Williams added.

"I have to say that spooked me," she told the inquiry, sitting at Liverpool Town Hall.

Ms Williams told Shahram Sharghy, representing some of the families of Letby's victims, that Mr Harvey said he would check the information.

Mr Sharghy said: "Did he or any other member of the executive team seem surprised or indeed worried by what you had told them about your findings?"

Ms Williams replied: "I don't recall them saying anything that would give me that impression."

The inquiry into the events surrounding Lucy Letby's crimes is being chaired at Liverpool Town Hall by Lady Justice Thirlwall

Ms Williams also said she told the executives about a previous occasion, "many years ago", when police were called in about possible deliberate harm being caused on an adult ward at the hospital.

She explained: "I got a phone call from a previous chief executive saying could I come down?

"He said somebody had brought this concern that somebody may be switching off pumps which deliver fluids to patients. I think it was in the high dependency setting.

"We had a very brief conversation and said we both believed we should inform the police and they would make their decision as to what do. So he rang the police.

"The police came in straight away. They didn't want you to do your own investigation or anything like that."

With Letby, Ms Williams said she urged bosses to adopt a similar approach.

But the nursing chief said she was repeatedly told that [senior managers] had "taken advice" that they must first conduct their own investigation.

She told the inquiry that she believed the executive team were "clear in their minds" the deaths were due to poor care and that Letby was not deliberately harming babies.

'Objectivity compromised'

The inquiry saw notes from a meeting between executives, managers and clinicians on 11 July 2016 which was exploring how to respond to consultants' concerns about Letby.

Then-chief executive Tony Chambers was noted to have said: "There is correlation with a nurse but we know change in acuity and activity.

He added: "A week ago only option to ring the police but now more info.

"We can create harm to nurse - fragile toxic.

"Need to protect it."

Consultant Ravi Jayaram was noted to have said: "Should not be blinkered to the unspeakable. Fine balance, my objectivity compromised."

Another consultant, John Gibbs, said: "Main worry is nurse therefore must be totally supervised. Cast iron assurance."

Later that month, Letby was moved to clerical duties in the hospital's risk and patient safety department rather than continuing to work on the neonatal unit.

Cheshire Police were called in by Mr Chambers in May 2017.

Letby continued to work at the hospital until her first arrest in July 2018.

The 34-year-old, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted at Manchester Crown Court of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims, between June 2015 and June 2016.

The Thirlwall Inquiry is expected to sit until early 2025, with the findings published by late autumn of that year.