Lucy Letby trial: Nurse says colleagues' mistakes led to baby's death

Nurse Lucy Letby, 33, denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others

A murder-accused nurse has told jurors mistakes by colleagues led to the death of one of her alleged victims.

Lucy Letby said a delay in giving antibiotics to the newborn girl's mother after her waters broke early "may have had an impact".

Ms Letby is accused of administering air to the infant via an intravenous line while she worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital.

The 33-year-old, originally of Hereford, has denied all charges.

The court heard the full-term baby, referred to as Child D, died in the early hours of 22 June 2015, two days after her birth.

The prosecution said the baby girl was stable and progressing well when Ms Letby went on duty to care for two other babies in the same nursery.

Giving her seventh day of evidence at Manchester Crown Court, the accused nurse told the court it was not her case that staffing levels contributed to Child D's death.

Prosecutor Nick Johnson KC said: "Is it your case that medical competency contributed?"

She replied: "Yes. I believe she didn't have appropriate treatment at the start of her life."

Mr Johnson said: "The delay with antibiotics?"

The defendant said: "Yes. It may have had an impact."

The attacks were alleged to have taken place at the Countess of Chester Hospital

The jury of eight women and four men previously heard from Child D's designated nurse that she was on a break when the infant first collapsed in nursery one.

Mr Johnson said: "Did you take the opportunity because she was absent to sabotage [Child D]?"

She replied said: "No."

Two further deteriorations followed as medics were unable to resuscitate Child D.

Mr Johnson said: "[Child D] died because you injected her with air?"

Ms Letby said: "No, I didn't."

On Thursday, she told the court a "gang of four" consultants had pinned the blame on her for a number of baby deaths to cover up hospital failings.

She said staffing levels contributed "in part" to the death of Child A, on 8 June 2015.

The defendant said the boy was without fluids for some time and there was an issue with his intravenous line insertion.

She denied injecting him with air.

Ms Letby was cross-examined by prosecutor Nick Johnson KC

Ms Letby is also accused of trying to murder the boy's twin sister, Child B, using the same method on the next night shift.

She told the court she did not know why Child B had collapsed.

She also said she could not explain the collapses of Child C, a baby boy who died in the early hours of 14 June 2015.

She again denied she took an opportunity to sabotage Child C when his designated nurse left the room.

The court previously heard Child C was in a "good condition" and stable after his premature birth, but stopped breathing without warning on 13 June while being treated in nursery one of the neonatal unit.

He was pronounced dead the next day.

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Mr Johnson quoted evidence from a former nursing colleague Sophie Ellis, who previously told the court she fed Child C for the first time at 23:00 on 13 June.

She told the jury she then left the room briefly to go to the nurse's station, but was alerted by an alarm from the baby's monitor.

She said she then saw Ms Letby "standing by the incubator", who told her the baby's heart rate and oxygen levels had dropped.

Mr Johnson asked the defendant if she was in nursery one at the time, adding that she had been allocated babies to care for in nursery three.

Ms Letby said she disputed Ms Ellis' account and had "no memory" of the events.

"Do you dispute being born?" Mr Johnson asked.

"No," she responded.

"But you have no memory of it?" the prosecutor continued.

"No," she replied.

Lucy Letby denies murdering and attempting to murder babies at the Countess of Chester Hospital

Continuing, Mr Johnson quoted the evidence of a senior nurse, who told the court she had to "ask Lucy to focus back in nursery three", because "Lucy went into the family room a few times".

"Why were you so keen to spend time with [Child C's] family as they cradled their dying child?" he asked.

"I don't agree with that, I wasn't there a lot of the time," Ms Letby replied.

"You were enjoying what was going on, weren't you, Lucy Letby?" the prosecutor said.

"No," she replied.

Ms Letby denies murdering seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others between June 2015 and June 2016.

The trial has been adjourned until Wednesday.