Lucy Letby case: Doctor says questions must be asked about whether killer nurse could have been stopped earlier
A retired doctor who worked at the same hospital as Lucy Letby says questions must be asked about whether the killer nurse could have been stopped earlier.
Dr John Gibbs, a retired consultant paediatrician who worked at the Countess of Chester Hospital, also questioned why managers took 11 months to involve police when suspicions were raised.
It comes after Letby was on Friday found guilty of murdering seven babies and attempting to kill six other infants at the hospital’s neonatal unit.
Asked if the 33-year-old could have been stopped earlier and lives could have been saved, Dr Gibbs told Sky News: “I think that needs to be looked into.
“Partly, could we have stopped Lucy Letby earlier? And I think some of the parents of the babies towards the end will be asking that.
A corridor within the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit. Pic: Cheshire Constabulary/CPS
“But then, once we have realised, we had great concerns about Lucy Letby, and she was removed from the neonatal unit, why did it take 11 months for the police to then be called in?
“That is something that, we as paediatricians have to look at, but also the managers need to answer, why it took so long for the police to come in.”
Read more:
How the police caught Lucy Letby
More families told their children could be victims
Following the verdicts, the government said it would launch an inquiry into the killings.
“That would be very useful and lessons need to be learnt,” Dr Gibbs added.
It comes after Dr Ravi Jayaram – a consultant paediatrician at the hospital who gave evidence in Letby‘s court case – said there are “things that need to come out about why it took several months from concerns being raised to the top brass before any action was taken to protect babies”.
Dr Ravi Jayaram. Pic: Rex/ITV/Shutterstock
He also questioned why it took almost two years from when the first babies died for the hospital trust to contact the police.
Consultants first raised concerns about the nurse after three babies died in June 2015. As more babies collapsed and died, consultants held several meetings to raise their concerns about Letby.
Lucy Letby live updates: Jurors seen leaving court in tears
Writing on Facebook, Dr Jayaram said: “The truth of what happened during that time will shock you to the core as it comes out.
“The safety of patients should come above any risk of reputational damage and sometimes the right decisions might be difficult and unpopular, but executive-level managers are paid to do just that.
“There are people out there now, still earning six-figure sums of taxpayers’ money or retired with their gold-plated pensions, who need to stand up in public to explain why they did not want to listen and do the right thing, to acknowledge that their actions potentially facilitated a mass-murderer and to apologise to the families involved in all of this.
Read more:
Inside court and the trial of a baby killer
Parents of boys Letby tried to kill criticise hospital
Video shows moment of Letby arrest
“However, I suspect the response will be fudge and misinformation and it is now my mission moving forwards to make sure that they are held to account.”
Letby was eventually moved into a non-patient-facing role, after the collapse of a child.
Lucy Letby pictured as she was arrested in 2018
Doctors were forced to apologise to Letby
Consultants, including Dr Jayaram, were also forced to apologise to Letby, according to ITV News.
In a letter to Letby seen by the broadcaster, the consultants felt pressured to write: “Dear Lucy, we would like to apologise for any inappropriate comments that may have been made during this difficult period. We are very sorry for the stress and upset that you have experienced in the last year.
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“Please be reassured that patient safety has been our absolute priority during this difficult time.”
Medical director at the Countess of Chester Hospital, Dr Nigel Scawn, said the whole trust was “deeply saddened and appalled” at Letby’s crimes.
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Chester Hospital ‘appalled’ by Letby’s crimes
“We are extremely sorry that these crimes were committed at our hospital, and our thoughts continue to be with all the families and loved ones of babies who came to harm or died.
“We cannot begin to understand what they have been through.”
He added: “Since Lucy Letby worked at our hospital, we have made significant changes to our services and I want to provide reassurance to every patient that may access our services that they can have confidence in the care that they will receive.”
Counter-terrorism police are investigating after an incident involving a crossbow and a firearm left two women injured in Leeds.
Police were called to Otley Road at 2.47pm on Saturday to reports of a “serious incident involving a man seen with weapons”, West Yorkshire Police said.
Officers arrived at the scene to find two women injured – and a 38-year-old man with a self-inflicted injury. All three were taken to hospital, with the man held under arrest, but their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.
“Two weapons have been recovered from the scene, which were a crossbow and a firearm,” Counter Terrorism Policing North East said in a statement.
The incident happened on the ‘Otley Run’ pub crawl, with one venue saying it was closed for the evening due to “unforeseen circumstances”.
Officers guard one of the crime scenes
Officers inside the cordon in Leeds
Counter Terrorism Policing’s statement added: “Due to the circumstances surrounding the incident, Counter Terrorism Policing North East have taken responsibility for leading the investigation with the support of West Yorkshire Police.
“Extensive enquiries continue to establish the full circumstances and explore any potential motivation.”
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper described it as a “serious violent incident” and said she was being kept updated by police.
“Thank you to the police and emergency services for their swift response,” she said. “My thoughts are with the victims and all those affected by this attack.”
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Wrexham AFC have been promoted for the third season in a row.
The North Wales-based side has gone from the National League to the Championship in just three seasons, under its Hollywood owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.
Wrexham were second in the table and had a run of eight games unbeaten ahead of their match against Charlton Athletic on Saturday, which they won 3-0.
Wrexham’s James McClean lifts the League One trophy. Pic: PA
Wrexham’s Dan Scarr celebrates with the fans on the pitch after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
It is the first time any club has been promoted for three consecutive seasons within the top five tiers of English football.
The third oldest association football club in the world, Wrexham AFC was bought by Reynolds and McElhenney in 2020, and has since been the subject of a Disney+ documentary, Welcome To Wrexham.
Reynolds, wearing a Wrexham sweatshirt, and McElhenney were pictured celebrating each goal, and after the game, as the fans came onto the pitch at the SToK Cae Ras (Racecourse Ground) to celebrate the victory with the players.
Wrexham co-owners Rob McElhenney (L) and Ryan Reynolds and Ryan’s wife Blake Lively, before the match. Pic: PA
Both stars came onto the pitch after the supporters returned to the stands.
Speaking to Sky Sports, McElhenney praised those behind the scenes, referring to “so many that don’t get the credit they deserve, people who aren’t talked about”.
Reynolds said bringing success back to the club “seemed like an impossible dream” when they arrived in North Wales in 2020.
Wrexham’s Sam Smith celebrates in front of the fans after Wrexham won promotion to the Championship. Pic: PA
He put the three promotions down to “the coaching staff, the greatest dressing room” and an “all for one, one for all” attitude throughout the club, adding he was “speechless with their commitment and their emotion”.
As for the mouth-watering prospect of another promotion to the promised land of the Premier League, the pair agreed it was “for tomorrow”, before ending the interview with a joint mic-drop.
Veteran striker Steven Fletcher said, “as soon as I came to this club, I knew it was something special. We want to go again. We’ll reset in the summer, take a break and go again”.
“It has been a success.”
Just Stop Oil (JSO) insists it’s been “successful” – as its members ceremoniously hang up their orange high-vis vests during a march in central London.
Since the group formed three years ago, it’s drawn attention and criticism for its colourful, controversial protests, which ranged from disrupting sporting events to throwing soup on Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, and climbing on gantries over the M25. It sprayed orange paint over Stonehenge, and cost police forces tens of millions of pounds.
Those days are now behind it; to the relief of many.
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As a few hundred activists marched through London on Saturday, blocking roads as they went; taxi drivers blared their horns and football fans shouted abuse from the pavement.
The PA News Agency filmed the moment a white minivan seemed to drive towards a group of protesters blocking the road.
Protesters shouted “I’m being pushed back!” to police, while the driver could be heard shouting “What about my right to get home?” to the officers gathered.
But JSO never set out to be popular. And it believes its tactics – though hated – have been successful; thanks to the new Labour government’s commitment to not issue new oil or gas exploration licences.
That’s why, it says, its ceasing direct action.
JSO hangs up its high-vis jackets in central London on Saturday
A washing line of high-vis jackets signifies JSO’s disbanding
“This moment marks the success of the JSO campaign – our demand was to end new oil and gas licences and that is now government policy.
“As a result of which four billion barrels of oil are being kept under the North Sea. The campaign has reached a natural end.”
Dr Oscar Berglund, senior lecturer in international public and social policy, disagrees that JSO is disappearing because it’s been “successful”.
He told Sky News policing strength and public perception might have more to do with it.
“They have very low levels of popularity. About 17% of the British population are kind of broadly supportive of what Just Stop Oil do. And that’s too low to recruit.
“It’s difficult to recruit members to something that is that unpopular, and then that a lot of people for good reason I think have kind of stopped believing in that kind of disruption as a means to achieve meaningful change.”
Group triggers specific new protest laws
One thing it did change is the law.
Policing commentator Graham Wettone tells us: “Obstruction of the highway, obstruction of rail networks for example, these are specific offences now.
“It’s given the police more tactics, more methods, more offences they can consider, even stopping and searching somebody who may have something to either lock themselves on or glue themselves to something.”
A JSO activist holds a picture of an imprisoned colleague
Emma Smart was held in prison for her activism with both Insulate Britain and Just Stop Oil.
“The high-vis might be going away,” she tells me, “but we aren’t.”
“These people aren’t going anywhere, we are still committed, dedicated, terrified by the failings of this government and governments around the world.”
JSO activists throw orange paint at van Gogh’s sunflowers
Orange smoke set off by JSO protesters at Stonehenge
She hopes for a time of reflection before it returns in a new form but says the need for climate activism is stronger than ever.
She also believes that while most people dislike JSO tactics, it still raises awareness of the cause and might even push people to more moderate campaign groups.
Just Stop Oil came behind other, similarly controversial climate campaign groups like Insulate Britain and Extinction Rebellion, and as it says goodbye, its disruptive methods have been seized upon by other organisations like the Pro-Palestinian Youth Justice.
The infamous Just Stop Oil orange vests might be going away, but the individual activists, their cause and campaign tactics feel here to stay.
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