Disturbing pattern in baby deaths, nurse's trial told

A medical expert has told the trial of nurse Lucy Letby how he noticed a "quite disturbing and quite unusual" pattern in the deaths of babies she is accused of murdering.

Ms Letby is charged with killing seven babies and attempting to murder 10 others at the Countess of Chester Hospital in 2015 and 2016.

Expert Dr Dewi Evans was approached by the National Crime Agency to review the case in 2017.

Giving evidence at Manchester Crown Court, Dr Evans said: "The concern was that there had been a number of deaths in the Countess of Chester that had been unusual.

"There were far more deaths than they would expect. There was collapses in babies that were otherwise quite stable, but in many of the cases resuscitation was not successful."

It is alleged Ms Letby injected air into the bloodstream of a baby referred to in court as Child A, shortly after she came on shift in June 2015, just over 24 hours after his premature birth.

The prosecution alleges she used the same method to attack his sister, Child B, on the following night shift.

Dr Evans told the court that a review of Child A's records showed that the baby boy was in a "stable condition" before his collapse.

He said: "He was as well as could be expected, all the markers of wellbeing were very satisfactory.

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Source: BBC News, 25 October 2022