Letby victim's mother calls hospital bosses 'complicit'

‘They should face criminal action for harm that was caused’

- KIM PILLING

Hospital bosses who ignored concerns over nurse Lucy Letby were “complicit in the harm that was caused” and should face criminal action, a mother has told a public inquiry. The mother of Child N, a baby boy who Letby attempted to murder, also said “nothing effective” had been done by NHS authorities to prevent another killing spree in a health setting since the crimes of Beverley Allitt and Harold Shipman.

Letby targeted Child N at the Countess of Chester Hospital’s neonatal unit in the early hours of 3 June 2016 by injecting him with air. Consultants had previously raised concerns about a link between increased mortality and Letby being on shift during a number of the deaths.

However, lawyers for then medical director Ian Harvey and nursing director Alison Kelly have told the Thirlwall Inquiry they were not informed until late June 2016 about suspicions from medics that Letby was deliberately harming babies. Giving evidence yesterday, Child N’s mother stated: “I would hope that the managers of the trust are held accountable for failing to investigate the whistleblowing allegations.