Inquiry Hears Letby Featured in Hospital Fundraising Campaign

The public inquiry investigating Lucy Letby’s crimes has been informed that she served as the “face” of a fundraising initiative aimed at replacing the neonatal unit at the hospital where she committed the murders of seven infants. The nurse appeared conspicuously on promotional materials, including leaflets and posters, for the Countess of Chester Hospital’s Babygrow Appeal, a multimillion-pound campaign initiated in 2013. During his earlier testimony at the Thirlwall Inquiry, Simon Holden, who previously held the position of chief financial officer for the hospital, stated: “There was various promotional material and leaflets and posters, and Lucy Letby appeared on quite a few of those.” He added, “Nurse Letby was the face of that appeal in effect.” Letby additionally contributed a staff profile that was published in the Chester Standard newspaper during the initial phase of the campaign. Furthermore, in August 2015, two years subsequent to this, she was photographed alongside her colleagues in the same publication, commemorating the achievement of the halfway fundraising goal for the expanded new unit. In July 2016, she was reassigned from the unit to an administrative position within the hospital, following concerns raised by consultant paediatricians that she might have intentionally caused harm to infants after the fatalities of two triplet boys. Mr. Holden recounted that discussions concerning the charitable appeal took place in meetings with hospital executives, but he noted that Letby’s name was not mentioned. He stated: “To be quite honest I didn’t know who Lucy Letby was so I wouldn’t put the face with the name at the time.” He further explained that it subsequently became clear that all the promotional materials “had Lucy Letby’s picture on it”. In her staff profile, Letby, who commenced full-time employment at the neonatal unit in January 2012, informed the Chester Standard: “My role involves caring for a wide range of babies requiring various levels of support.” She continued, “Some are here for a few days, others for many months and I enjoy seeing them progress and supporting their families.” She also expressed, “I hope the new unit will provide a greater degree of privacy and space for parents and siblings.” The new unit became operational in 2021; however, it is scheduled for relocation to a new women and children’s facility set to open next summer. Cheshire Police were not contacted by the hospital until May 2017 to probe the rise in fatalities on the unit, as the hospital had chosen to initiate a series of internal reviews instead. Andrew Higgins, a former member of the hospital board, informed the inquiry that law enforcement should have been engaged sooner. The non-executive director commented: “For too long, the trust treated investigations into the increase in deaths too much like those in other mortality or serious incident reviews.” He identified the “basic mistake” as each group’s attempt to provide conclusive answers prior to escalating the matter further, beginning with the internal reviews carried out by clinicians in late 2015 and early 2016, which he also described as having proven “inconclusive.” Letby, aged 34 and originally from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders following her conviction at Manchester Crown Court for the murders of seven infants and the attempted murders of seven additional babies, including two attempts on a single victim, crimes committed between June 2015 and June 2016. The inquiry, convening at Liverpool Town Hall, is projected to continue its proceedings until early 2025, with its conclusions anticipated for publication by late autumn of the same year.