Lucy Letby inquiry blames UK hospital for failure to protect babies
Inquiry finds parents were kept in the dark as hospital hid Lucy Letby suspicions during secret reviews.
A statutory public inquiry has blamed an English hospital for a “complete failure at all levels” to protect newborns, after former neonatal nurse Lucy Letby was convicted of murdering seven babies under its care.
The Countess of Chester Hospital could have prevented the deaths of several infants, as well as the attempted murders of six others, between June 2015 and June 2016, Lady Justice Kathryn Thirlwall said on Tuesday.
“Errors were made by nurses, doctors and managers,” Thirlwall said. “There was also complete failure at all levels to invoke safeguarding procedures at any point.”
Hospital executives kept parents completely in the dark regarding mounting suspicions around Letby while conducting quiet internal reviews, leaving families unaware until police arrested her in July 2018.