Letby safeguarding chief tells inquiry she had ‘best intentions’

A infirmary enforcement has told the nationalist enquiry implicit the crimes of kid serial slayer caregiver Lucy Letby that she “didn’t get everything right” but she had the “best intentions”.

Alison Kelly was manager of nursing astatine the Countess of Chester Hospital during the play erstwhile Letby attacked babies connected the neonatal portion betwixt June 2015 and June 2016.

Letby was moved disconnected the portion successful July 2016 to an administrative relation aft advisor paediatricians told Ms Kelly and different elder managers astatine the extremity of June that they were acrophobic she whitethorn beryllium deliberately harming infants.

I would similar to explicit my condolences to each the families and I’m truly atrocious for each the distress that the families person experienced implicit the past fewer years, and are presently experiencing arsenic we beryllium present today

Alison Kelly

But constabulary were not called successful to analyse until May 2017 aft the infirmary bosses opted to committee a bid of reviews into the accrued mortality connected the unit.

At the commencement of her grounds connected Monday astatine the Thirlwall Inquiry, Ms Kelly said: “I would similar to explicit my condolences to each the families and I’m truly atrocious for each the distress that the families person experienced implicit the past fewer years, and are presently experiencing arsenic we beryllium present today.

“I didn’t get everything right. However the decisions I made were with the champion intentions.”

Ms Kelly, who arsenic portion of her relation was the enforcement pb for safeguarding children, told the proceeding she ne'er regarded the summation successful deaths arsenic a safeguarding matter.

She agreed that 1 of the consultants, neonatal objective pb Dr Stephen Brearey told her successful a gathering connected May 11 2016 astir his concerns implicit the emergence successful deaths but said helium did not notation fears of deliberate harm.

Letby was discussed, she said, but she had “assurances” from her nursing squad determination were nary concerns astir her arsenic a caregiver practitioner.

Ms Kelly said: “There was thing intelligibly articulated successful that meeting. We each felt by the extremity of that gathering that we could reappraisal the concern successful a fig of weeks’ time.”

She said determination continued to beryllium “no articulation of existent issues” from the consultants pursuing the deaths of 2 triplet boys, connected successive days successful June 2016.

Ms Kelly said: “There was ne'er immoderate clarity again. Nobody had seen her bash anything. There were presumption utilized similar gut feeling… which did not pinpoint immoderate peculiar issues with Letby.”

Consultants went connected to archer Ms Kelly and elder managers that determination had been a signifier of six retired of 9 deaths occurring astatine nighttime and the signifier stopped erstwhile Letby was moved to days, and that immoderate babies had not responded to resuscitation arsenic expected.

But Ms Kelly said absorption were “balancing that” with the “nursing views of her signifier and however highly regarded she was thought of”.

She said: “We needed to get much facts, we needed to propulsion much things unneurotic to spot what the fuller representation was astatine the time.

“We had nary existent grounds arsenic successful cipher had seen her bash anything. There was broadbrush stagements, determination was nary grounds provided to america astatine that time.

“I deliberation we needed to look astatine everything successful the circular successful presumption of objective outcomes arsenic good arsenic looking astatine 1 individual.

“I didn’t instrumentality the hearsay of consultants arsenic grounds astatine the time.”

Ms Kelly denied she had not taken the concerns “seriously enough”.

Counsel to the enquiry Nicholas de la Poer KC asked: “Do you deliberation determination is immoderate anticipation that things had go truthful acrimonious with doctors versus nurses and with you backing the nurses, that a civilization of fearfulness had developed?”

Ms Kelly said: “I would not accidental a civilization of fear. I deliberation determination were challenges with the relationships, I deliberation the spot had breached down and I deliberation connected reflection we could person done much to enactment the clinicians, surely successful a pastoral perspective.

“There was tons of engagement, it was conscionable tense astatine times which is wherefore we gained proposal from outer agencies and the constabulary eventually.”

Letby, 34, from Hereford, is serving 15 whole-life orders aft she was convicted astatine Manchester Crown Court of murdering 7 infants and attempting to execution 7 others, with 2 attempts connected 1 of her victims, betwixt June 2015 and June 2016.

The inquiry, sitting astatine Liverpool Town Hall earlier Lady Justice Thirlwall, is expected to beryllium until aboriginal 2025, with findings published by precocious autumn of that year.