Lucy Letby, a former nurse at Countess of Chester Hospital, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more. Photo / Getty Images
Lucy Letby, a former nurse at Countess of Chester Hospital, was convicted of murdering seven babies and attempting to murder seven more. Photo / Getty Images
Babies who died at Lucy Letby’s hospital may have survived with better medical care, a leading child expert has said.
In a new ITV documentary about Letby’s case, Professor Neena Modi, of Imperial College, said she had examined medical notes and concluded that critically ill babies had not been monitoredor treated appropriately.
Letby, 35, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders for killing seven babies and attempting to murder seven others at the Countess of Chester Hospital between 2015 and 2016.
But Modi, a former president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said the babies should never have been admitted to the ill-equipped and understaffed neonatal unit.
Professor Neena Modi claims the neonatal unit was ill-equipped and babies were not monitored or treated appropriately. Photo / Getty Images
“On reading through the detailed medical notes, what was harrowing was seeing a story unfold where possibly things could have been recognised earlier and interventions could have been put in place, and perhaps for some of the babies, the outcomes might not have been what they were,” she said.
“This was deeply distressing. This was a neonatal unit that was being required to look after babies who should not have been cared for there.”
“The babies that we’re referring to were all extremely vulnerable. Some of them were demonstrably and recognisably on a knife-edge.
“Others could have been recognised to have been on a knife-edge, but they were not monitored appropriately, and they were not treated appropriately.
“Problems went unrecognised until the point at which a baby deteriorated very abruptly. So the babies might not have died had their difficulties been addressed earlier.”
Modi is part of a panel of world-leading experts who have challenged the verdicts and who have compiled a report that has been presented to the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which looks into potential miscarriages of justice.
Experts are questioning the evidence used to convict Letby, with a report presented to the Criminal Cases Review Commission. Photo / Getty Images
The CCRC is expected to report back before Christmas.
The documentary also heard that test results, which the prosecution relied on to prove that several of the babies had been poisoned with insulin, were not fit for purpose.
Professor Matthew Johll, a forensic chemist from Illinois Valley Community College, said that an immunoassay test should not have been used to convict Letby without follow-up forensic testing to rule out a false positive.
“You would not strip a gold medal from an international athlete on an immunoassay,” he said.
“It’s not good enough for drug testing for pilots or anyone who has mandatory drug testing. So how can it be good enough to put someone in prison?”
Lucy Letby: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? is currently available on ITVX.
The show’s producers said: “After two trials, nurse Lucy Letby was found guilty of killing seven newborn babies and attempting to kill seven others in one of the most shocking murder cases in British history.
“Described as a cold-blooded, calculating killer, Letby was said to have used her trusted role to cause catastrophic harm to the most vulnerable newborn babies.
“So why are a growing number of expert voices now questioning the evidence used to convict her? This programme explores the views of a team of international scientists who say the prosecution case simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”
Lucy Letby could face further charges. Photo / Getty Images
Letby could also face further charges. In July, Cheshire Constabulary passed a new file to the Crown Prosecution Service relating to new baby deaths and non-fatal collapses at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Liverpool Women’s Hospital between 2012 and 2016.
The CPS confirmed that it had received the file and said it would “carefully consider the evidence to determine whether any criminal charges should be brought”.
Cheshire Constabulary is also investigating three former managers from the Countess of Chester over allegations of gross negligence manslaughter and corporate manslaughter.
