Bosses at serial killer Lucy Letbys hospital didnt alert police to suspicions about her sooner because they never expected nurse could be responsible, inquiry hears

Bosses at the hospital where Lucy Letby murdered babies didnt alert police to suspicions about her sooner because they never expected a nurse could be responsible for the deaths, an inquiry heard.

The senior leaders also insisted yesterday it was the collective responsibility of everyone working there to keep patients safe, despite claims they failed to act quickly on concerns raised by staff.

The former executive team at the Countess of Chester Hospital apologised to the parents of the neo-natal nurses victims for failing to call in police sooner.

But they told the public inquiry into Letbys crimes that it would need to explore why no doctors or nurses working with the serial killer, or members of the hospital board, did so either.

In her opening statement, delivered on behalf of the former chief executive, Tony Chambers; former medical director, Ian Harvey; former director of nursing, Alison Kelly; and former head of HR, Sue Hodkinson, Kate Blackwell KC said the four managers never expected a nurse to be killing babies on a neo-natal unit.

Lucy Letby (pictured) is serving 15 whole-life orders after she was convicted of murdering seven infants and attempting to murder seven others, with two attempts on one of her victims

It was felt important from the outset that an open mind was preserved about the cause of the increasing deaths, she said. Incidents or issues on wards were, from their experience almost always complex and multifactorial, rather than there being one single factor - or indeed actor. 

That a nurse could be responsible for these heinous crimes is profoundly disturbing and not something any of them ever expected to be happening.

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LISTEN: Why didn't they stop her? We report from the inquiry into the hospital Lucy Letby worked at

Letby, 34, murdered seven babies and tried to kill seven more on the unit between June 2015 and June 2016.

Ms Blackwell said the managers now accepted they had thought they needed to obtain clear evidence of wrongdoing before contacting Cheshire police when concerns about Letby arose. 

They admitted this had caused a significant delay and for that they were sorry, she said.

Ms Blackwell said the former executives also apologised for poor communication with the parents, which they accepted had caused hurt and anxiety.

But she said they had not deliberately kept them in the dark about the investigations and reviews they initiated to cause anguish, nor did the long periods of silence involve a conspiracy of dishonesty.

Nor did they, as has been alleged earlier this week, prioritise the hospitals reputation over the safety of the babies at any time, or seek to suppress concerns or attempts to blow the whistle, the barrister said.

Body worn camera footage from Cheshire Constabulary of the arrest of Lucy Letby in 2018

A court artists sketch of Lucy Letby giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court on July 24

And Ms Blackwell said it had not been simply up to them to safeguard patients at the hospital.

The responsibility to keep babies safe is shared by everyone, from those that work on the ward all the way up to the board, it is a collective responsibility, Ms Blackwell said. Following concerns about Lucy Letby being raised, the Board of Directors were kept updated as and when developments occurred and had opportunity to hold senior managers to account.

She also added: It will be a matter of exploration for this inquiry as to why those who held concerns about criminality - those carrying out clinical duties on the wards - did not contact the Nursing and Midwifery Council, the police or any of the other relevant external bodies.

The inquiry has heard that the possibility of a nurse killing babies ought to have been in the minds of bosses because Victorina Chua, a nurse at Stepping Hill Hospital, in Stockport, 40 miles east of Chester, had been jailed for murdering two patients just a few weeks before Letby began her killing spree.

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Jason Beer KC, representing NHS England, said there had been a lack of candour in the way information was shared by the hospital with parents and outside agencies.

On behalf of the entire NHS, NHS England wishes again unreservedly to apologise to all of the parents and the families affected for what they have been through and for the mistakes and system failures in the way these crimes were reported and investigating, he said

 This includes the lack of compassion and candour in the way information was shared by the hospital and for the lack of support provided to the families and all those affected by the unspeakable events.

The inquiry has already heard there was a delay in holding meetings between the consultants who were raising concerns and senior bosses, and that little was put in writing about Letby or her suspected criminality.

The deaths and collapses were also not reported on internal systems properly or to outside agencies.

Ms Blackwell said the former managers will tell the inquiry that - even as late as May 2016, two months before Lucy Letby was removed from working, no concerns were being raised about the deaths being unnatural or suspicious. The only discussions involving Lucy Letby were concerned with her well-being because she had been on shift when so many babies died, the barrister added.

A sign outside the Countess of Chester Hospital in Chester

Letby worked on the neonatal unit at the Countess of Chester Hospital (pictured) between June 2015 and June 2016

The investigation at Liverpool Town Hall (pictured) will examine how Letby was able to attack babies on the Countess and Chester Hospitals neo-natal unit in 2015 and 2016

When that changed at the end of June, when two triplets were murdered on consecutive shifts, and the Board was finally informed, meetings about the spike in deaths and the link with Letby took place behind closed doors, away from public scrutiny, the inquiry has been told.

Ms Blackwell said the managers know they will be asked difficult questions and are prepared to answer them openly and honestly so lesson can be learned. She said they hoped the inquiry would look at all the evidence with an open mind unblinkered by hindsight bias and stressed that the information collected via the police investigations, two trials and inquiry process is quite distinct to the incomplete information they had at their fingertips, eight or nine years ago.

Letby, formerly of Hereford, is serving a whole life term in prison after being found guilty following two trials at Manchester Crown Court. An appeal against her convictions has also been rejected.