Nursing boss tells Letby inquiry she ‘pleaded’ with hospital to contact police

A nurse leader recounted how she urgently requested a hospital administrator to reach out to law enforcement regarding claims that Lucy Letby was injuring infants.

Karen Rees, who leads the nursing team in urgent care at Countess of Chester Hospital, expressed her desire for a criminal inquiry, stating that previous reviews were not making progress and that "relationships were falling apart everywhere."

Rees expressed that she had never felt such a sense of relief as she did when the police were finally involved in May 2017, which was over a year after the executives were first made aware of the issues surrounding Letby. However, she acknowledged that she and the other managers were to blame for not reaching out to the authorities sooner.

During the Thirlwall inquiry, she expressed that at first, she thought the doubts regarding Letby stemmed from a "personal" animosity from two pediatric consultants towards her.

The investigation, led by Lady Justice Thirlwall, is looking into the circumstances related to the killing of seven infants and the attempted killing of seven others by Letby during the period leading up to June 2016.

On Monday, the BBC's Panorama program shared that "recent findings" indicate the nurse currently serving a life sentence may have caused harm to additional babies under her care, which includes a third potential case of insulin poisoning.

It referenced medical documents that seemed to indicate the baby was given insulin not long after Letby assumed responsibility for his care in November 2015.

Subsequent tests identified that the baby had congenital hyperinsulinism, a disorder characterized by excessive insulin production. However, specialists informed the BBC that this condition could not account for the extremely high insulin levels observed in the infant.

Letby's attorneys challenged the accusation and argued that the methods employed to measure blood insulin levels were not reliable. It is known that Cheshire police looked into this insulin case prior to Letby being charged in November 2020.

During the investigation, Rees stated that she thought she learned about worries regarding the increase in fatalities in the neonatal unit either in December 2015 or January 2016. This was at least four months after she had assumed the role of head of nursing for urgent care in August 2015.

Rees mentioned that she had no part in any discussions with higher-ranking doctors who expressed worries about Letby’s links to a string of unusual and mysterious deaths starting in June 2015.

She mentioned that one of the consultants, Dr. Stephen Brearey, informed her in late June 2016 that his worries stemmed from an instinctive feeling. He also implied that a "drawer of doom" in his office held proof linking Letby to the harm of infants, but he declined to disclose any specifics.

Rees mentioned that Brearey had urged her to take Letby off the neonatal unit during two discussions on June 24, 2016, right after the tragic deaths of two baby boys born as triplets on that day. However, Rees declined to do so because she hadn't observed any proof to justify the action.

She acknowledged that the worries expressed by senior doctors should have led to the nurse being pulled from frontline work, but she felt “pressured and intimidated” into making a choice. She also mentioned, “I believed it was personal and I felt a bit offended by that.”

Rees acknowledged that she grew too familiar with Letby after she was assigned to assist her following the nurse's departure from the unit in July 2016.

Messages presented during the investigation reveal that the nursing director encouraged Letby, saying, "Hang in there, we're all supporting you. We'll make it through this." Another message expressed optimism, stating, "Hopefully, we'll find closure this year!"

In December 2017, seven months after the police were alerted, Rees sent a message to Letby saying, "We will keep advocating for you," according to the inquiry.

The investigation is anticipated to continue until the beginning of 2025, and the results are expected to be released by late fall of that year.