Former Hospital Chairman Admits Major Personal Failure in Letby Case

The individual who previously served as chairman of the hospital where serial killer Lucy Letby committed the murders of infants has characterized his choice to exclude the doctors who harbored suspicions about her from a crucial meeting as “a big personal failure”. Sir Duncan Nichol presided over the board of directors at the Countess of Chester Hospital during the period from June 2015 to June 2016, when Letby was responsible for the deaths of seven babies and attempted to kill seven others. He further recounted an “emotional meeting” with one of these medical professionals, occurring after the police inquiry commenced, during which he expressed regret for his delayed intervention. Sir Duncan has now addressed the matter publicly for the initial time at the ongoing public inquiry examining the events surrounding Letby’s actions and the National Health Service’s reaction. Letby had been reassigned from the neonatal unit in July 2016 to administrative tasks following concerns raised by senior consultants regarding her association with unexplained infant deaths and collapses. Nevertheless, during an extraordinary board meeting held on 10 January 2017, Ian Harvey, the hospital’s medical director, advocated for “assisting” her reintegration into the unit. Senior consultants had received invitations to an earlier extraordinary board meeting on 14 July 2016, where Dr Ravi Jayaram, among others, stated that their suspicions concerning Letby constituted the “elephant in the room”. Yet, these consultants were not extended an invitation to the subsequent meeting. Sir Duncan informed the Thirlwall Inquiry, convened at Liverpool Town Hall, that he acknowledged the ultimate decision regarding attendance at that meeting rested with him. He stated, “I regard it as personally a big failure on my part that the consultants were present at the first extraordinary board meeting and they were not present at this one, and they should have been.” Furthermore, he extended an emotional apology to the relatives of Letby’s victims. Sir Duncan remarked, “I’ve never encountered a situation which has generated as much angst and stress as this one.” He continued, “I wanted to say that the Countess of Chester Hospital failed to keep babies safe in their care and that’s something that I found very, very stressful over time, and more importantly that caused unimaginable grief for the families whose babies died and I am so sorry that that happened in the way that it did.” Sir Duncan, who held the position of chief executive of the NHS Management Executive from 1989 to 1994, was also questioned regarding a separate meeting on 30 June 2016, which included senior directors and some medical practitioners. Rachel Langdale KC, serving as counsel to the inquiry, indicated that meeting records documented consultant Dr Jim McCormick stating: “This is a Beverley Allitt /[Harold] Shipman situation.” Allitt was a nurse imprisoned for the murder of four infants in Lincolnshire in 1991, whereas Shipman was a general practitioner responsible for the deaths of up to 215 patients across a 30-year span. Ms Langdale inquired, “Did that make you sit up when you heard that?” Sir Duncan responded that he had no recollection of the comment being uttered. Additionally, Sir Duncan stated that a remark delivered by Mr Harvey to the hospital’s Quality, Safety and Patient Experience Committee on 19 September 2016 was incorrect. During that gathering, a report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH), which had been tasked with reviewing the neonatal unit, was deliberated. Mr Harvey informed this meeting that the RCPCH “had not raised any immediate concerns” subsequent to being requested to conduct a review of the neonatal unit – despite the fact that it had, in reality, advocated for Letby’s investigation. The inquiry was informed that no effort to contact law enforcement occurred until May 2017, following the board’s consultation with criminal barrister Simon Medland QC. Sir Duncan recounted, “Mr Medland reported back to us that he didn’t find any evidence of criminality but he used an expression that stayed in my memory, along the lines that ‘if events are still unexplained, the police should be called’.” He further commented, “I wish we had had that advice in July 2016.” Ms Langdale questioned Sir Duncan regarding an electronic mail he dispatched to Dr Jayaram on 25 May 2017. The email conveyed: “I want you and your consultant colleagues to know how deeply sorry I am for the personal distress that you have and are all suffering and for my part in not intervening sooner.” The inquiry learned that on that very day, Sir Duncan personally sought out Dr Jayaram. He informed the inquiry that the two individuals engaged in an emotional discussion, adding, “I remember us putting our arms around each other.” Sir Duncan informed the inquiry that he now recognized the existence of a “huge amount of sympathetic support” extended to Letby by senior management, a fact of which the board was “not sufficiently sighted of”. The inquiry was apprised that Letby’s parents, John and Susan Letby, dispatched a letter to Sir Duncan in July 2017, characterizing their daughter as having been “singled out for punishment”. The correspondence requested a meeting “as soon as possible” due to “the anguish this situation is causing has become intolerable”. Sir Duncan stated he did not reply to the communication, which was sent after the police investigation into Letby had commenced. The inquiry has previously received testimony from the families of Letby’s victims indicating they were “kept in the dark” by the hospital. When questioned by Leanne Woods, who represents several of the affected families, about their place within the “big picture”, Sir Duncan replied: “The families were not in the big picture.” He continued, “We did not exercise appropriate duty of candour towards the families and that was a failure. “A serious failure.”” The inquiry, currently in its 12th week, is anticipated to continue its proceedings into the new year. Letby received convictions for the murder of seven infants and eight charges of attempted murder, which included two attempts on the same victim. She is currently serving 15 whole-life prison sentences.