Hospital boss wanted to ‘protect Lucy Letby from allegations’ that she was murdering babies as nurse accused consultants of running a ‘witch-hunt’ against the serial killer
- Lucy Letby, 33, was set to be offered a role at Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool
Hospital bosses wanted to ‘protect Lucy Letby from allegations’ that she was murdering babies as a nurse accused consultants of running a ‘witch-hunt’ against the serial killer.
Letby, 33, was then set to be offered the chance of an observational role at the world-famous Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool after NHS managers ignored warnings from doctors about what she was doing.
The convicted child killer was also to be given help for a master’s degree or advanced nurse training after she convinced the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust she was being victimised by doctors, the Sunday Times reported.
After a marathon ten-month trial, Letby, of Hereford, was convicted of 14 charges – seven of murder and seven of attempted murder – against 13 babies.
Ian Harvey, the Trust’s medical director, reportedly said the trust wanted to ‘protect Lucy Letby from these allegations’, while senior urgent care nurse Karen Rees was said to have told Letby ‘the intention was to get her back onto the neonatal unit’.
One nurse reportedly said the consultants were running a ‘witch-hunt’ against Letby.
Hospital bosses wanted to ‘protect Lucy Letby from allegations’ that she was murdering babies as a nurse accused consultants of running a ‘witch-hunt’ against the serial killer
After a marathon ten-month trial, Letby, of Hereford, was convicted of 14 charges – seven of murder and seven of attempted murder – against 13 babies
Letby, 33, was set to be offered the chance of an observational role at the world-famous Alder Hey hospital (pictured) in Liverpool
The jury at Manchester Crown Court cleared Letby of two attempted murder charges and they failed to reach verdicts on a further six attempted murder charges.
None of the babies or their parents can be named for legal reasons.
The ‘evil’ killer nurse is set to be sentenced on Monday but has already indicated via her legal team that she will not attend the hearing at Manchester Crown Court.
The Sunday Times claims to have obtained a raft of internal documents, including a report detailing the outcome of a formal grievance brought by Letby against the Trust, which show how she was offered an apology from the trust and doctors who had raised concerns about her.
Managers also proposed offering her the place at the top hospital, where more than a quarter of a million patients are treated a year.
Letby made a formal grievance against the trust in September 2016 for victimisation and discrimination, complaining she had been unfairly targeted and forced out of the job she loved.
The grievance case document reportedly shows how consultants first voiced fears about baby collapses and deaths with directors of the board in 2015 and how doctors been heard alluding to ‘killers’ on the ward.
READ MORE: ‘You are harbouring a murderer’: Inside story of how NHS bosses appeased serial killer nurse Lucy Letby after staff raised alarm by offering her prestigious work placements and allowing monster’s parents to read out ‘victim’ statement in hospital
Some doctors were told they could face misconduct probes and they were met with fierce opposition to their attempts to escalate their concerns.
Consultants who raised concerns have since told how babies could have been saved if hospital bosses had listened to them and acted sooner.
The neonatal unit’s head consultant, Dr Stephen Brearey, first raised Letby’s association with an increase in baby collapses in June 2015.
He told the Guardian that deaths could arguably have been avoided from as early as February 2016 if executives had ‘responded appropriately’ to an urgent meeting request from concerned doctors. Police were alerted in 2017.
Another consultant, Dr Ravi Jayaram, repeatedly expressed concerns to hospital bosses as more sudden and unexpected collapses happened.
Speaking to the Sunday Times, Susan Gilby, the trust’s former chief executive, called for a fully public inquiry, adding that she realised that within a week of starting at the trust, in 2018, that police needed to investigate.
Medical Director Ian Harvey was warned the situation was potentially ‘very serious’ in May 2016
Lucy Letby, pictured, was found to have killed seven children and tried to kill another six
Lucy Letby lived a double life, going out with friends while also killing innocent babies
The ‘evil’ killer nurse is set to be sentenced on Monday but has already indicated via her legal team that she will not attend the hearing at Manchester Crown Court
An independent, non-statutory inquiry into Letby’s crimes was announced by ministers on Friday.
Karen Rees – as she was known at the hospital before she remarried to become Mrs Moore – has disputed the evidence given by Dr Brearey during Letby’s trial, and said she was unable to comment further following legal advice.
Mr Harvey is now enjoying his retirement in France with his second wife and did not comment when the Mail contacted him at his home.
He later told the BBC in a statement: ‘As medical director, I was determined to keep the baby unit safe and support our staff. I wanted the reviews and investigations carried out, so that we could tell the parents what had happened to their children. I believe there should be an inquiry that looks at all events leading up to this trial and I will help it in whatever way I can.’
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