Lucy Letby inquiry says some baby deaths preventable

A public inquiry into the Lucy Letby case found Tuesday that some baby deaths at the Countess of Chester Hospital could have been prevented if senior staff had acted sooner.

Letby, a 36-year-old former nurse, was convicted of murdering seven newborn babies and attempting to kill seven others at the hospital's neonatal unit between 2015 and 2016. She is serving a whole-life prison sentence and has maintained her innocence. Two applications for leave to appeal have been dismissed.

Inquiry chair Kate Thirlwall, a senior appeal court judge, said the inquiry was “not an investigation into the criminal convictions or guilt of Letby”. After examining the actions of hospital staff, management and the National Health Service, she found a “complete failure to invoke safeguarding procedures”.

Thirlwall said Letby should have been removed from the ward as soon as suspicion arose that she could be causing deliberate harm. She said that after a May 2016 meeting about a series of baby deaths, Letby remained on the ward, and that two babies who died the following month “should not have died”.

The report recommended fitting all cots and incubators in neonatal units with video baby monitors within a year so parents can watch their babies remotely. Thirlwall said such monitors would deter someone seeking to harm a baby and would probably have detected the first three murders and one attempted murder in June 2015.

The inquiry also recommended security cameras for fridges storing insulin in neonatal units. Health minister Yvette Cooper said she was “profoundly sorry” for the failures set out in the report and that plans would be made to fit cot cameras in neonatal units.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission is considering evidence presented on Letby's behalf by an international panel of medics.