Inquiry Hears Coroner Uninformed of Letby Suspicions

An inquiry into the offenses committed by Lucy Letby has been informed that a coroner stated hospital management did not inform him of suspicions regarding a staff member potentially causing multiple infant fatalities. Senior managers at the Countess of Chester Hospital received concerns about nurse Letby from consultant paediatricians in late June 2016, after two triplet boys died on consecutive days. Instead of contacting the police, the hospital chose to initiate several medical reviews concerning the rise in deaths within the neonatal unit during 2015 and 2016. The Thirlwall Inquiry was informed that several of the infant deaths had already been forwarded to the coroner’s office by late June 2016. Alan Moore, who was then the assistant coroner for Cheshire, testified that he received a telephone call in early July 2016 from Stephen Cross, the hospital’s director for corporate and legal services. Mr. Moore stated that Mr. Cross informed him that the hospital had commissioned an independent review by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) after a series of neonatal deaths. Nicholas de la Poer KC, counsel to the inquiry, stated: “We know that a driving factor behind the RCPCH review was the fact that the consultants raised concerns at a number of meetings that they had suspicions that a nurse may be responsible for some or all of the deaths. “Was that information communicated to you by Mr Cross?” Mr. Moore responded: “No.” He further indicated that these concerns were not brought up to him or to Nicholas Rheinberg, who was then the senior coroner for Cheshire, during their meeting with Mr. Cross and Ian Harvey, the hospital’s medical director, in February 2017. Mr. Moore commented: “Mr Rheinberg is a very experienced, diligent and thorough coroner and I have no doubt he would have contacted the police probably before Mr Harvey and Mr Cross had left the room.” Mr. Moore, who succeeded Mr. Rheinberg as senior coroner in March 2017 and retired in June 2022, also stated: “The provision of timely, accurate and truthful information is fundamental to the coronial process.” He continued: “If the Countess of Chester had become aware of any information which had not already been disclosed to the coroner’s office that would impact upon a death, the Countess of Chester would have been required to disclose that information immediately.” “The Countess of Chester would have been expected to notify the police immediately if it had any reason to suspect that a person or persons may have been criminally responsible for causing a death.” “The coronial process is a judicial process. It demands complete candour from healthcare professionals, clinicians, nurses and from hospital staff and also from trust management.” “A failure to disclose to the coroner any information which may have a material bearing on a coronial case, whether it’s been through the coronial process already or is pending, is to mislead the coroner and to mislead the court.” Letby, aged 34 and from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders following her conviction at Manchester Crown Court for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven others, including two attempts on one victim, between June 2015 and June 2016. The inquiry, which is convening at Liverpool Town Hall, is anticipated to continue until early 2025, with its findings scheduled for publication by late autumn of the same year.