Lucy Letby’s Father Sought Dismissal of Consultants Who Raised Concerns, Inquiry Hears

A public inquiry has been informed that Lucy Letby’s father advocated for the “instant dismissal” of two consultants. These consultants had expressed worries that Ms. Letby was intentionally harming infants within a hospital’s neonatal unit. Furthermore, John Letby reportedly “exerted pressure” through telephone calls made to employees at the Countess of Chester Hospital. The Thirlwall Inquiry, which is investigating how the nurse managed to murder seven children and attempt to murder seven others, was told that Mr. Letby and his wife held a meeting with hospital management in December 2016. During this meeting, he conveyed that Letby had “been to hell and back” following her removal from the neonatal unit five months prior. At the hearing held at Liverpool Town Hall, it was revealed that Mr. Letby sought information regarding the “severity” of the punishment that consultants Dr. Stephen Brearey and Dr. Ravi Jayaram would face for the concerns they had articulated about his daughter. The inquiry also heard that Mr. Letby placed numerous phone calls to Kathryn de Beger, an occupational health nurse who had been designated to provide support to Letby after her redeployment. In her testimony, hospital HR director Sue Hodkinson stated: “[Ms de Beger] described to me how Mr Letby was getting agitated on the phone with her, that it was becoming increasingly difficult to manage and she felt very uncomfortable.She added: “In my view he wanted to express his anger towards the ongoing situation with Letby.”John was placing Kathryn under significant pressure to have the calls escalated to a more senior level.”In normal circumstances I would not have dealt with a call of this nature or spoken to a staff member’s parent.”” Subsequently, chief executive Tony Chambers requested that the consultants apologize to Letby for purportedly derogatory comments. Days afterward, the nurse sent an email to her colleagues, announcing her return to the unit, stating she had been “fully exonerated.” However, Letby did not return to the unit, as the hospital ultimately contacted the police in May 2017. This action followed earlier decisions to commission several reviews concerning the rise in deaths during 2015 and 2016. Ms. Hodkinson indicated that a “real turning point” occurred on March 15, 2017, when Dr. Jayaram informed her of an event from February 2016. He recounted seeing Letby at a baby’s cotside and observing that a valve had shifted to an alternative setting. Ms. Hodkinson conveyed that Dr. Jayaram’s account left her feeling “really, really uncomfortable” and “stunned.” She stated: “I didn’t think we had really looked into some of the aspects enough clinically and I have to take his concerns seriously.“I remember going home at night and I was in tears about it.”” She testified to the inquiry that she believed Dr. Jayaram’s statements and communicated this to her fellow executives the following day. Letby, aged 34 and from Hereford, is currently serving 15 whole-life orders. Her conviction at Manchester Crown Court was for the murder of seven infants and the attempted murder of seven others, including two attempts on one victim, occurring between June 2015 and June 2016. The inquiry, presided over by Lady Justice Thirlwall, is anticipated to continue until early 2025, with its findings slated for publication by late autumn of the same year.