Lucy Letby: Nurse rejected baby move suggestion, jury told

Nurse Lucy Letby is accused of killing seven babies in a neo-natal unit

A nurse has told jurors how Lucy Letby dismissed her concerns about a premature baby triplet who later died.

Melanie Taylor said she felt "put out" when Ms Letby rejected her suggestion to move the child to a higher priority unit at Countess of Chester Hospital.

Ms Letby is said to have murdered the boy in June 2016 on her return from a week's holiday in Ibiza.

The 33-year-old denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others between 2015 and 2016.

Manchester Crown Court has previously heard that the boy, referred to as Child O, was in good condition and stable up until the afternoon of 23 June when he suffered a "remarkable deterioration" and died.

The boy was one of triplets and his brother, referred to as Child P, died just over 24 hours later after also being allegedly attacked by Ms Letby.

The prosecution allege Ms Letby murdered the boys by injecting air into their bloodstreams.

Giving evidence, Ms Taylor, who was the nursing shift leader, said on the morning of 23 June she had "no concerns" about Child O.

The attacks are said to have taken place at Countess of Chester Hospital

"We felt he was stable at the beginning of the shift", she said.

By early afternoon, Ms Taylor told the court she recalled seeing Child O and thinking: "I don't think he looks as well as he did before".

Ms Taylor said she spoke to Ms Letby, who was the boy's designated nurse, and "asked whether she felt we should move him to nursery one" for closer observation.

"She just said no quite plainly", she said.

'Undermining'

"She felt he was okay and wanted to keep him in nursery two and wanted to keep the three triplets together.

"It's a joint care decision. Lucy was the one looking after him and knew him inside and out. When I look back I think maybe I should have been more firm. Hindsight is a wonderful thing."

Ms Taylor said she remembered "being quite put out" by Ms Letby's refusal, adding: "I felt like she was undermining my decision."

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At 14:40 Child O suffered a collapse and was moved to nursery one, where he stabilised.

At around 16:15 the boy suffered a further collapse which required resuscitation, including cardiac compressions.

Those efforts were unsuccessful and Child O was pronounced dead at 17:47.

Ben Myers KC, defending, asked Ms Taylor whether it was "desirable" to keep the three brothers together "as far as you can". She agreed.

She also accepted she was "content" to leave Child O in nursery two so the parents could "have all three of them together".

The trial continues.