By Rory Tingle, Home Affairs Correspondent For Mailonline and James Tozer for the Daily Mail
12:22 04 Oct 2023, up to date 15:08 04 Oct 2023
The hospital the place Lucy Letby murdered infants is being investigated by police for company manslaughter, it emerged right now.
Cheshire Constabulary mentioned the power is conducting a company manslaughter investigation on the Countess of Chester Hospital following the neonatal nurse’s conviction for murdering seven infants and attempting to kill six others.
Detective Superintendent Simon Blackwell mentioned the investigation would look at the interval by which Letby carried out her killing spree – June 2015 to June 2016 – and look at the conduct of these in ‘senior management’ positions on the hospital.
He mentioned ‘no people’ are at present being investigated for gross negligence manslaughter.
Hospital bosses had as many as ten alternatives to behave on considerations that Letby was linked to a spike in deaths or collapses on the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neo-natal unit earlier than police have been lastly referred to as in.
Announcing the probe, Det Sup Blackwell mentioned: ‘Following the prolonged trial, subsequent conviction of Lucy Letby and an evaluation by senior investigative officers, I can affirm that Cheshire Constabulary is finishing up an investigation into company manslaughter on the Countess of Chester Hospital.
‘The investigation will deal with the indictment interval of the fees for Lucy Letby, from June 2015 to June 2016, and take into account areas together with senior management and determination making to find out whether or not any criminality has taken place.
‘At this stage we’re not investigating any people in relation to gross negligence manslaughter. The investigation is within the very early levels and we’re unable to enter any additional particulars or reply particular questions right now.
‘We recognise that this investigation may have a major influence on various totally different stakeholders together with the households on this case and we’re persevering with to work alongside and assist them throughout this course of.’
Letby was handed an entire life order following a 10-month trial, which heard how hospital managers and medical doctors missed important alternatives.
When consultants lastly grew to become suspicious and demanded Letby be faraway from her frontline job, hospital bosses refused to consider she was in charge and moved her to an workplace job.
But they fought to get her reinstated onto the neo-natal unit – even insisting senior medics write her a letter of apology after a proper employment grievance she pursued.
In the tip, consultants persuaded executives to go to police in May 2017.
Following Letby’s conviction in August, Dr Stephen Brearey, the marketing consultant paediatrician then answerable for the unit, accused hospital administration of a ‘cover-up’.
His colleague, TV medic Dr Ravi Jayaram, mentioned lives might have been saved had managers acted on their considerations sooner and accused them of failing to behave to guard the hospital’s fame.
Dr John Gibbs, one other marketing consultant paediatrician on the hospital, mentioned: ‘In the 11 months earlier than the police obtained concerned, after we raised considerations, senior managers have been extraordinarily reluctant to contain police, to debate what was occurring.
‘We needed to preserve insisting the police be concerned.’
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) beforehand mentioned it needed to pursue a retrial on one in all Letby’s excellent costs – that she tried to homicide a child woman, referred to as Child Okay, in February 2016.
A provisional trial date of June 10 2024 on the identical court docket has been mounted.
The jury of seven girls and 4 males in Letby’s 10-month trial couldn’t attain verdicts on claims she tried to homicide three child women, Child H, Child J and Child Okay.
Verdicts have been additionally not reached on two counts of tried homicide in opposition to Child N, a child boy, and an allegation she tried to homicide one other male toddler, Child Q.
Letby was discovered responsible of 1 depend of tried homicide in opposition to Child N.
The defendant, from Hereford, denied all of the offences and formally lodged an enchantment in opposition to her convictions on the Court of Appeal final month.
A court docket order prohibits reporting of the identities of the surviving and lifeless youngsters who have been the topic of the allegations.
A father of dual infants who Letby tried to kill mentioned he hoped there could be ‘no hiding place’ if any felony wrongdoing is discovered to have taken place by hospital administration.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing households of infants killed or harmed by Letby referred to as the announcement ‘vital information’.
Tamlin Bolton, specialist medical negligence solicitor at Switalskis, representing the households of seven infants, mentioned: ‘We are reassured that some steps are actually being taken to contemplate the actions of administration from a felony perspective.
‘This is critical information right now. The households we characterize have continued to request that Senior Management on the Countess of Chester Hospital be investigated and/or be a part of investigations transferring ahead.
‘It will likely be for the Crown Prosecution Service and the police to find out now if the conduct of the senior administration on the Countess of Chester Hospital fell thus far beneath what might fairly have been anticipated of them, that their actions brought about or contributed to the deaths of youngsters.
‘Whist the information is welcomed, this announcement brings with it recent anguish for the households as they anticipate the conclusion of those additional felony investigations.’
The father of dual infants of which Letby was discovered responsible of trying to kill, mentioned: ‘We welcome the information of company manslaughter (proceedings) in opposition to COCH. There should be one thing in it for police to analyze hopefully now there will likely be no hiding place for the senior administration of that belief.’
Tony Chambers, former chief government of the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, mentioned: ‘I’m really sorry for what all of the households have gone by, and I intend to co-operate totally and overtly with the police investigation.
‘I’m deeply saddened by what has come to gentle throughout this trial and the crimes which were dedicated are appalling and my ideas are with the kids on the coronary heart of this case and their households and family members.’
